Microwave Caramel Sauce

Microwave Caramel Sauce; have you ever heard of it? In less than 10 minutes you’ll have a warm, decadent caramel topping that’s perfect for your ice cream, apple cake or as a holiday gift! Practically foolproof!

Easy Microwave Caramel Sauce

Are you caramel phobic? Scared of attempting a homemade caramel sauce? Push those fears aside as I have an simple solution: an easy caramel sauce made in the microwave. Once you’ve done it once or twice, it’s a piece of cake and no candy thermometer is ever needed. I have made numerous varieties of caramels and caramel sauces over the years. And some have been big fat flops. This is the recipe I turn to when I need a no-fail caramel sauce recipe.

Tips for Making Microwave Caramel Sauce

This is a super easy recipe! Here are a few pointers for making this no-fail microwave caramel sauce at home.

• Since all microwaves heat a little differently, you may have to sacrifice your first batch to figure out the exact timing for your appliance.
• Sugar, corn syrup, water and just a teeny squeeze of lemon juice are mixed in a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup. This concoction is zapped on high heat just until it starts taking on a very pale amber color.

• You’ll want to use a clear Pyrex measuring cup so you can see as the color begins to change.
• Here is my warning: this hot liquid will continue to cook and brown after it’s removed from the microwave. So, if you let it get to a deeper amber color you will have a burnt mess on your hands.

• My old microwave took about 4 minutes to reach the ideal color and my current model needs a few seconds more than 5 minutes.
• PRO-Tip: Make sure to make a note of the timing which gives you the best results for your future batches of this microwave caramel sauce.

Gifts from the Kitchen

To make this easy caramel sauce into a gift, I love pouring it into Weck canning jars. Adding a chef medallion from Felix Doolittle makes it even more personalized.

• Homemade Caramel Corn
• Cream Caramels
• White Chocolate Party Mix
• Homemade Irish Cream
• Double Dose English Toffee
• Check out all my other Food Gift Recipes!

Yield: 1½ cups

Microwave Caramel Sauce

Print

An easy recipe for caramel sauce using your microwave! Beware that all microwaves are different. My previous microwave would burn well before 5 minutes, and my current one takes about 5 minutes, 5 seconds. Adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 4 minutes

Total Time 9 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup hot heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Mix sugar, corn syrup, water and lemon juice in a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup.
2. Microwave till mixture just starts to take on a bit of color (a pale amber), about 4-5 minutes. Watch very carefully as it will continue cooking once you pull it out of the microwave. If it gets deeper than a pale amber, it will burn while on the counter.
3. Remove measuring cup to counter where it will continue to bubble and darken to a caramel color (amber). Add hot cream a couple tablespoons at a time, very slowly as it will bubble intensely.
4. When all the cream is added, stir in butter and vanilla
5. Store in refrigerator for up to a month.