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Pink Salt Caramel Sauce

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This pink salt caramel sauce takes 15 minutes, uses 4 pantry staples, and finishes with a pinch of flaky pink Himalayan salt that sets it apart from every jar of store-bought caramel you’ve ever tasted. The salt adds a clean, subtle mineral note that lingers after every bite. Make it once and you’ll have a jar in your refrigerator for the rest of the month.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (200g) granulated white sugar
  • ½ cup (120ml) heavy cream, warmed
  • 3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon flaky pink Himalayan salt, plus more to taste at the finish

Instructions

  1. Dry-melt the sugar. Pour the granulated sugar into a heavy-bottomed saucepan in an even, level layer. Set the heat to medium. Do not stir. After 2–3 minutes the edges will begin to liquefy and turn pale gold.
  2. Swirl, don’t stir. Once the edges start to melt, gently swirl the pan to move unmelted sugar toward the liquid center. Continue swirling every 30 seconds. The sugar will progress through pale gold, golden amber, and finally deep amber over 5–7 minutes. Target a rich copper-brown color at around 340–350 °F (171–177 °C). If it begins to smell bitter or the edges smoke, move immediately to the next step.
  3. Add the cream carefully. Remove the pan from the heat. Pour in the warm heavy cream all at once — the mixture will bubble aggressively. Stir from the bottom with a silicone spatula until the bubbling subsides and the sauce is smooth.
  4. Stir in the butter. Return the pan to low heat. Add the butter cubes one at a time, stirring each piece fully into the sauce before adding the next. This emulsifies the fat into the caramel and creates a glossy, pourable consistency.
  5. Finish with pink salt. Remove from heat. Stir in ½ teaspoon of flaky pink Himalayan salt. Taste and add another pinch if you want a more pronounced mineral finish. Pour into a clean glass jar and cool for 10 minutes before using.

Notes

Warm your cream before you need it. Cold cream hitting molten sugar causes violent splatter and can seize the caramel solid. Thirty seconds in the microwave is enough.

Use a light-colored pan. A dark or nonstick pan hides the amber color change until it’s too late. Stainless steel or an enameled saucepan is ideal.

Storage: Refrigerator up to 1 month; room temperature (cool, dark pantry) up to 2 weeks; freezer up to 3 months. To re-liquefy, microwave in 15-second bursts or set the jar in a bowl of warm water.

Troubleshooting — grainy / crystallized caramel: Caused by stirring too early. For the dry method, only swirl — never stir. To rescue: add 1 tablespoon of water and return to low heat to re-dissolve.

Troubleshooting — burned caramel: No fix; start fresh. Use a light-colored pan and do not leave the stove during the final 2 minutes.

Troubleshooting — caramel seized when cream was added: Always warm the cream first. If it seizes, return to low heat and stir patiently — it will re-melt within 3–4 minutes.

Troubleshooting — too thin: Cook over medium-low for 2–3 more minutes, stirring constantly. The sauce also thickens as it cools.

Troubleshooting — too thick: Stir in 1 tablespoon of warm heavy cream over low heat until smooth.

Find it online: https://pinksaltfood.com/recipes/pink-salt-caramel-sauce/