Apple Cider Caramel Sauce
A rich and gooey apple cider caramel sauce that's as at home swirled into ice cream as it is spooned over fresh apples.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 140kcal
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Instant-Read Thermometer
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 454 g apple cider 16 oz
- 242 g heavy cream
- 150 g cane sugar
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 4 g vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg optional
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves optional
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Place 454 g apple cider in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.
- Let simmer until it reaches ¼ cup in volume, lowering the temperature as needed to prevent burning. This should take about 30-45 minutes.
- While the cider is reducing, heat 242 g heavy cream to just boiling, then remove from the heat and cover until ready to use.
- Meanwhile, place 150 g cane sugar in a medium saucepan with just enough water to wet it and ½ tsp lemon juice.
- Heat the sugar over medium, and let simmer until it reaches your desired caramel color. I like to aim for 245-250°F (firm-ball stage) to keep the caramel from turning out too hard.
- Stir in the hot cream, and whisk over low heat until it forms a creamy caramel.
- Stir in the cider reduction.
- Then, stir in 4 g vanilla extract, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ⅛ tsp ground cloves, and ½ tsp kosher salt.
- Pour into a heatproof container and let chill for at least 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Keep a close eye on it in the last 5-10 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn!
The lemon juice prevents crystallization (caramel's worst enemy!). You can stir or leave it alone without worries.
Notes
Yield: about 1 cup.
Storage: Refrigerate up to 2 weeks, or freeze up to 2 months.
