WARNING! The Da-- Caramel Sauce

[cjs]

Why I hate baking/pastry cr-p! The Pumpkin bread pudding is out of the oven and it looks great for taking tomorrow. BUT, the darn caramel sauce was an absolute flop.

I mixed my sugar and water and cooked away and finally all the liquid evaporated, and the contents of the pan went back to granulated sugar lumps! I'd never seen anything like it. I kept on and eventually it did remelt and caramelize, but by then there was a definite burnt taste to it. And, probably the addition of rum to this is not my favorite thing. To me, it's just not a good recipe!

Roy is at the store getting me more heavy cream so I can make my old standby caramel sauce.

Do whatever you guys want, just wanted to give you a heads up.

[chef_Tab]

funny, when I read the recipe, I thought it sounded scarey. If YOU had trouble, I had best stay away from it. Thanks for the warning, Jean!

[Gourmet_Mom]

Thanks Jean! Duly noted on the recipe.

[DFen911]

Did you stir it? I've always been told to add the water to the sugar, stir once and leave it. I love homemade caramel sauce. This year I'm making it for Christmas gifts for co-workers and neighbors, along with a chocolate sauce.

[labradors]

Quote:

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... stir once and leave it.

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Now THERE'S something I've never heard. Although I've never made a caramel SAUCE, I've been making caramels for more than 15 years, and the instructions are always very careful to point out that the sugar mixture MUST be stirred CONSTANTLY, else it will burn and stick to the pan. In fact, I've even read instructions that say not even to reverse the direction while you are stirring, since that briefly stops the motion, and could be enough to cause burning and sticking. Thus, I've always stirred caramel non-stop. Mind you, again, I was making caramel candies, not caramel sauce, and have never made the kind that start with sweetened, condensed milk - all the ones I have made start with sugar, corn syrup or honey, and heavy cream.

[cjs]

"never made the kind that start with sweetened, condensed milk" - I didn't start with this either, just sugar and water (which I don't normally do). Yes, I stirred it, not continuously.

My old standby worked wonderfully with the bread pudding - the dish was empty when we left.

[Dismc]

I make a caramel sauce often and I start with sugar and water. The trick is to not stir at all but swirl the pan and brush down the sides with a wet pastry brush. Jean, it sounds like your syrup crystallized and seized. I think I'll test that recipe and see how it comes out for me.

[luvnit]

Jean,

This is the best da-- carmel sauce I have ever made. In fact, I have made it 3 times in the past two weeks to put on a puffy pancake I make.

Important:
If you try to make it be sure to have a large enough pan 2.5 to 3 quart is adequate. It foams to double or triple in volume while cooking.

Caramel Sauce:
1 ½ cups sugar
¾ cup buttermilk
½ cup butter or margarine
2 T. corn syrup
1 t. baking soda
2 t. vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar

In a saucepan, combine the first five ingredients; bring to a boil. Boil for 7 minutes, stirring frequently and gently in a circle. Remove from heat, keep stirring; stir in vanilla. Let cool a few minutes before serving.

[cjs]

hmmmm, may try some others, but this is the one I always end up going back to - so dependable, so good!!


CARAMEL SAUCE

1 c heavy cream
3 1/4 ozs corn syrup
4 1/2 ozs SUGAR
3/4 oz butter

Bring cream to a boil & remove from heat.
Cook the corn syrup & sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over med. heat to a golden caramel, stirring from time to time.

Stir in butter, then carefully stir in the hot cream, working over low heat.
As soon as the cream is blended into the sauce, set the pan in an ice-water bath to stop the cooking process.

The sauce is ready to serve now, or it may be cooled & held for later service.
Reheat the sauce over low heat or in a bain-marie if necessary.

Yield:
"2 c"
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[Trixxee]

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sounds like your syrup crystallized and seized.

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Perfect description of what happened to me one time. I can't remember now what I was making but it seized up on me. I remember telling my husband that I didn't know what happened. It was a disaster.