How to Make Caramel—It's Easier Than You Think

It only has one ingredient, sugar, but caramel might be the most intimidating project you can undertake in the kitchen. The process that transforms that sugar into caramel is magical—and I'm here to hold your hand as you experiment. Learn how to make caramel with me; I'm sharing my expert tips and workarounds (you can fix it if it crystallizes!). Also, you'll want to try my favorite desserts that use caramel—because once you know how, you'll be making it on the regular.

How to Make Caramel

First of all, here is a basic dry caramel recipe.

1. Place 2 cups of sugar in a pot. Use a deep pot if you are going the extra steps and making a caramel sauce or caramel candies—for those, you will need to add cream to the cooked caramel, which boils up a lot. Add your lemon juice (if you are using it).
2. Move the pot to the stovetop over medium or medium-high heat. Add enough water to dissolve the sugar. Don’t add too much, or it will just take longer to become caramel—all the water needs to cook off before the sugar starts to caramelize. You can stir a bit at this point to help that along.
3. Once the sugar dissolves, stop stirring; stirring can encourage crystalizing, and we don’t want that.
4. Let the sugar mixture cook until you just begin to see golden brown around the edge; during this time, you can cover the pot, or you can just watch it and wash down the sides with a pastry brush every once in a while to dissolve the sugar crystals (if they exist).
5. Once the mixture is golden brown on the edges, start to swirl the pan so that the mixture combines (golden brown edges with a clear center); continue to cook until the mixture is evenly golden or dark golden brown (depending on the recipe).

Remove the caramel from the heat just before the mixture reaches the color you are trying to achieve. And transfer to the ice bath.

If the mixture turns very dark brown and smoky, you have gone too far and should start again.

How to Avoid Sugar Crystals

You can start sugar “dry,” but adding water is very helpful as it allows the sugar crystals to dissolve before heating up—you want that; trust me, sugar crystals are the enemy of caramel. At any time during the process, if the liquid sugar comes into contact with sugar crystals, it can turn into a seized or crystalized mess and won’t continue to cook into the beautiful golden caramel you are looking for.  

To avoid this, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to ensure no undissolved sugar crystals can come in to contact with the liquid sugar:

1. You’ve already done it; use some water when making caramel. It will take longer to achieve, but it will be worth the time when you don’t need to worry about crystallizing.
2. Cover your pot in the beginning. This will cause steam to form, which will then wash down the sides of the pot so no crystals are adhering to the sides.
3. Keep a pastry brush and some water nearby—wet the brush and wash down the sides of the pot once you uncover it.
4. You can add a little acid, such as lemon juice or vinegar (like a teaspoon), or a smaller amount of citric acid (like ¼ teaspoon). It helps prevent crystallization. Don’t add too much, though, or your caramel will taste tart.

Other important things you need to know:

• The biggest secret is that if your caramel does crystalize, you can fix it: Just add some water, re-melt the sugar crystals, and start again! 
• If you need to stop cooking the caramel quickly, make an ice-water bath to transfer the pot to when you have reached your ideal color.
  

Cleaning Up After Making Caramel

Once you are done, you might be thinking: "How will I get this hardened caramel off my spoon and pot?" I’ve got you:

Simply fill the pot with water (you can put your utensil in the pot, too, if it’s heatproof), then return to the stove and bring to a boil. The caramel should dissolve in the water as it comes to a boil. You can just soak it, too; it will eventually dissolve, but that is much slower.

How to Use Caramel in Desserts

Now that you know everything I know about making caramel, you can make some pretty amazing desserts.

Caramel Sauce

This easy sauce is caramel with cream, salt, and pure vanilla extract added.

Crème Caramel

I love a classic crème caramel. The few ingredients used come together into something pretty magical.  

Classic Caramel Candies

Want to make chewy addictive caramel candies? This recipe walks you through all the steps to perfect candies every time. These are great for sharing as the recipe makes a lot. Try it now, then these caramels can be your gift to everyone this holiday season.

Salted Caramel Six-Layer Chocolate Cake

One of the most impressive and delicious cakes we ever created at Martha Stewart has to be this decadent creation by our good friend Christine Albano.

Pro tip: When you are making the caramel filling be sure to return the mixture to 238 degrees Fahrenheit after adding the cream or it won’t thicken enough to be used as a filling in the cake!