homemade salted caramel

These tender and flavorful brown butter cupcakes are topped with nutty brown butter buttercream and homemade salted caramel.

Brown Butter Cupcakes with Salted Caramel

sugar

unsalted butter

heavy cream

flaky sea salt (more

brown butter (melted)

eggs (room temperature)

vanilla extract

almond extract

cake flour (substitute all purpose flour)

almond flour (substitute all purpose flour)

baking powder

salt

milk

brown butter (room temperature)

salted caramel (cooled to room temperature)

milk (more

I highly recommend making the salted caramel and the brown butter for the buttercream the night before so that they both have time to fully cool!

Warning: do not walk away from your caramel because it will probably burn the second you walk away from it (trust me).

In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, add the sugar and stir every 1-2 minutes or so until it begins to melt (the sugar will start to clump up before melting).

Once the sugar is completely melted and smooth (it should be an amber color), immediately remove from the heat and stir in the butter until combined (don’t be scared if it bubbles a lot).

Add in the heavy cream and salt and mix until fully combined and smooth. It won&#39;t want to combine at first, but just keep stirring and it will come together.

Pour the caramel into a heavy glass jar to cool to room temperature. Can be stored in the fridge for up to a month!

If you make the caramel the night before, it can sit covered at room temperature overnight so that it&#39;s a nice pourable consistency.

Salted Caramel

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Whisk the cake flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk the brown butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and almond extract together until combined.

Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thin.

Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).

Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.

Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Cupcakes

In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth.

Add in the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until fully combined and smooth.

Set the mixer to low speed and slowly drizzle in the salted caramel until it&#39;s fully incorporated into the buttercream. Then beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until the buttercream is super light and fluffy.

If needed, add in milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Frost cooled cupcakes. I used a Wilton 1M tip for these photos. Then drizzle with extra salted caramel.

Salted Caramel Buttercream

These salted caramel macarons have a simple French macaron shell and are filled with salted caramel buttercream and homemade caramel!

Salted Caramel Macarons

granulated sugar

unsalted butter (room temperature)

flaky sea salt

egg whites (room temperature)

cream of tartar

almond flour (sifted)

powdered sugar (sifted)

powdered sugar

salted caramel (room temperature)

I highly recommend making the salted caramel the night before you plan to make the buttercream so that it has time to fully cool to room temperature!

Warning: do not walk away from your caramel because it will probably burn the second you walk away from it (trust me). In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, add the sugar and stir every 1-2 minutes or so until it begins to melt (the sugar will start to clump up before melting).

Once the sugar is completely melted, immediately remove from the heat and stir in the butter until combined (don’t be scared if it bubbles a lot).

Add in the heavy cream and salt and mix until fully combined and smooth.

Pour the caramel into a glass jar to cool. Can be stored in the fridge for up to a month! If you make the caramel the night before, store it in the fridge but then let it sit at room temperature until it&#039;s a nice pourable consistency.

Let cool completely to room temperature before adding to the buttercream!

Sift together almond flour and powdered sugar into a large bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until they become foamy, then add in the cream of tartar.

Turn the mixer up to medium-high and gradually add in the granulated sugar (make sure to add the sugar in very slowly so that the meringue doesn’t deflate).

Once all the sugar is added, turn the mixer to the highest setting and whisk on high until stiff peaks form.

Using a spatula, gently fold in half of the dry ingredient mixture until fully combined. Then gently fold in the remaining dry ingredients. Continue to gently fold the batter until it reaches a “flowing lava” consistency. You should be able to make a “figure 8” with the batter before it breaks. As soon as you reach this consistency, stop mixing! If you over-mix the batter, the macarons won’t rise properly in the oven.

Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Scoop batter into a large piping bag fitted with a round tip. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the silicone mat and pipe 1 inch rounds. Pick up the baking sheet and drop it onto the counter 3-4 times to help bring any air bubbles to the surface of the macarons. Then use a toothpick to pop any visible air bubbles to make a smooth surface.

Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30-40 minutes or until a skin forms on the surface. You should be able to lightly touch the surface without any batter being disturbed.

While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 300°F.

Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 15 minutes or when they do not move on their “feet” when touched.

Let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them. They should easily peel off when fully cooled.

Match up your shells before filling, and then turn one side over. If desired, drizzle with salted caramel and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

Macarons

In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth.

Set the mixer to low speed and slowly drizzle in the salted caramel until it&#039;s fully incorporated into the buttercream. Then beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until the buttercream is super light and fluffy.

Once the macarons are cooled and decorated, pipe the caramel buttercream around the edge of the macaron shell. Then add a small scoop of salted caramel in the center of the frosting (about 1/2 teaspoon) then top with the decorated shell.

Put the assembled salted caramel macarons in an airtight container, then place them in the fridge to mature for 12-24 hours. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. However, for the best taste/texture, let them come up to room temperature for about an hour before eating! [Directly out of the fridge they can sometimes be super hard but at room temperature they&#39;re perfectly soft and tender!]

These Date-Sweetened Salted Caramels will satisfy your sweet tooth, but are made with only 5 healthy plant-based ingredients! Gluten-Free &amp; Fruit-Sweetened.

Healthy Date-Sweetened Salted Caramels

Medjool Dates*

tbsp Nut Butter (I prefer Cashew Butter

tsp Vanilla Extract

tsp Sunfoods’ Maca Extreme Powder

Salt

Optional Toppings: Vegan Chocolate, Flaky Sea Salt

Add all ingredients to a food processor and high-speed blender and process until smooth; you may need to use a spatula to scrape the sides.

Transfer the caramel into a bowl and place in the fridge for 10 minutes; once hardened, use your fingers to roll 1 tbsp balls of the caramel mixture into candy-shaped pieces. It helps to keep your fingers moist for this step!

Serve as-is, dip them in Chocolate, or top with extra flaky Sea Salt, if desired. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to two weeks &#8211; these can also be kept in the freezer for up to one month.

These were fantastic! I made these into 32 balls and dipped them in chocolate (Lily's milk chocolate chips). Easy bite-sized pieces! My go-to caramel recipe going forward!

Wow - these are amazing as is, but I’m definitely looking forward to getting creative with mixing chocolate and nuts next time!!

I have made these multiple times and my family loves them!! I was wondering for a friend I'm giving them to, how much sugar is in each piece? Thank you!

This foolproof homemade salted caramel recipe is so easy to make and only uses 5 ingredients. It's perfect for drizzling on top of desserts like ice cream, brownies, and cheesecake or mix it in as its own ingredient! 

Homemade Salted Caramel

(200 grams) granulated sugar

tbsp (90 grams) unsalted butter, room temp and sliced

(110 milliliters) heavy cream, room temp

tsp vanilla extract

tsp kosher salt

First, make sure your butter is at room temperature. Also heat the cream in the microwave for at least 1 minute to warm up. This is very important!

Measure out all of your ingredients and set them next to your stovetop.

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the sugar and melt down over medium heat. 

Stir occasionally at first, as it will take a few minutes (longer if using an electric stovetop) to see any changes in the sugar. As clumps start to form, stir constantly until it&#8217;s completely melted down.

Once melted, depending on if you used a gas or electric stove top, the sugar should either by a rich amber color or a light golden. If it&#8217;s rich amber, remove from heat and move on to the next step. If it&#8217;s lighter in color, stop stirring and allow it to caramelize and darken. It will only take 1-2 minutes for it to turn that rich amber color. Don&#8217;t step away from the stove as this happens quickly.

Take the pot off the burner and quickly whisk in the butter all at once. Whisk for about 30 seconds (it may not fully combine and that&#8217;s OK).

Quickly pour in the heavy cream and whisk again. Keep whisking until it&#8217;s smooth and fluid. *if yours clumps up, see my notes in the post about troubleshooting your caramel.

Finally, whisk in the vanilla and sea salt.

Pour into a glass jar or any heat safe container(it will be very thin at this point).

Cover and transfer to the fridge where it will last for up to 2 weeks. The caramel will thicken quite a bit once chilled, so warm it for about 15-30 seconds in the microwave to get the consistency seen in the images here.

See just above this recipe card for all of my salted caramel dessert recipes to put your homemade caramel to good use!

Super yummy! My sugar started to re-solidify after adding the butter and cream, so I placed it back on medium heat for five minutes and stirred frequently, and it all came back together. Next time I might just use melted butter to help with the temperature difference and not shock the sugar. I've used it in your brownie recipe and get to indulge on the extras in my coffee.

Made this exactly as written. Doubled the recipe and it turned out perfectly. I will mention, when the butter and then the cream were added it bubbled and foamed up like crazy each time. For this reason I would suggest you use a sauce pan that can accommodate such a reaction. Thanks for the great recipe and explicit instructions (with pics :-) Jenna. Using it for my son's birthday salted caramel cheesecake next week. :-)

First time caramel maker here… turned out great BUT… I didn’t have kosher salt so I subbed sea salt…. Well, the minerals in the sea salt don’t melt so there are crunchy bits t/o. 🤷🏽‍♀️
Thank you Jenna for taking the mystery out of making caramel.

I made this sauce and marbled it into and on top of one of my cheesecake (I have my own cheesecake recipe, tied and true.)  It was an AMAZING HIT, and this will be my go to caramel sauce forever!  I let it get a little darker than I wanted to, but it gave a delicious burnt sugar taste, and it eased back in the baking.  The marbling on top made beautiful “crevices,” or as I call them, FAULTLINES!  THANK YOU for this amazing, albeit labor-of-intensive-love recipe!!!

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