For those who love sweet foods, caramel is one type of sauce whose delicacy cannot be missed in various desserts. Unfortunately, some types of caramel sauce have a texture that is too thick, making it difficult to pour over ice cream or dip into various types of fruit, such as apples. However, don't worry because the texture of caramel sauce can actually be thinned by adding a liquid such as cream or water. If you have caramel chunks that are solid, feel free to melt them in the oven and add a little corn syrup or a squeeze of lemon, if necessary, to keep the texture from crystallizing. Since caramel is also delicious for dipping apples, feel free to learn the easy recipe in this article!
Step
Method 1 of 4: Diluting Caramel with Liquid
Step 1. Transfer the caramel to a medium-sized nonstick saucepan
Use a non-stick spatula to make sure all of the caramel has transferred to the pan.
Step 2. Reduce the heat of the stove
There is no need to use too high a temperature to thin the caramel. In fact, using too high a temperature can actually burn the caramel sauce! Therefore, simply warm the caramel over low heat for a few minutes, then stir with a spatula to make sure no sauce is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Step 3. Add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream or milk
Actually, heavy cream is a better option because it can maintain the taste and consistency of the caramel sauce. Start by adding 1 tbsp. heavy cream first. If the caramel sauce is still too thick, add another 1/2 tbsp. Gradually heavy cream until the texture you want is achieved.
Step 4. Use water to thin the caramel sauce containing the butter
In some cases, adding cream to a caramel sauce containing butter can crack the texture of the sauce due to the increased fat content in the sauce. While this risk won't occur if the sauce is constantly stirred over low heat, if you want to avoid this, feel free to dilute the caramel sauce with water instead of heavy cream!
Understand that water can easily reduce the thickness of the sauce
Step 5. Stir all ingredients until well mixed
Stir the mixed caramel sauce with the liquid using a nonstick spatula. While stirring, make sure the stove flame stays on! Continue to stir the sauce until it solidifies, indicating that the caramel has fully mixed with the added liquid.
Step 6. Let the caramel sauce cool down before eating
Be careful, the caramel sauce that is very hot is prone to burning your tongue! Therefore, let the sauce sit for at least five minutes or a maximum of half an hour until the temperature becomes safer to eat.
To make sure the caramel is cool enough, try feeling the air over the caramel. If your palms feel warm but not damp or too hot, the caramel sauce is ready to serve
Method 2 of 4: Melting the Solid-Textured Caramel Block
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 93 degrees Celsius
Before use, make sure the oven has been preheated for about 5 minutes.
The oven is the perfect tool for melting dense chunks of caramel. If using the stove, the caramel must be stirred constantly so it doesn't burn
Step 2. Put the caramel chunks in the dutch oven
In particular, a dutch oven (also known as a french oven) is a large pan with very thick walls so it is safe to heat in the oven. Before putting it in the dutch oven, it's a good idea to split the caramel chunks so that they are more in line with the diameter of the pan, then cover the pan and immediately put it in the pan. No need to grease the bottom of the dutch oven with oil or butter before using it!
Try to lay the caramel in a single layer. This means that you should not stack the caramel so that the melting process can occur at the same time
Step 3. Heat the caramel for 45 minutes
After 45 minutes, keep checking the caramel's condition although in general, caramel chunks need to be heated for almost 2 hours to melt completely. Remember, everyone's oven temperature is different. If your oven is very hot and the caramel you're melting isn't too big, it should be melting faster!
The caramel melting process is complete if not all of it has melted and is easy to stir
Step 4. Return the unmelted caramel to the oven, and reheat for 15 minutes to 1 hour
Keep checking the caramel condition at 15 minute intervals. The caramel should melt completely after heating for 2 hours.
Step 5. Allow the melted caramel to cool down
In particular, let the caramel sauce sit for about 10 minutes before cooking or consuming it. Caramel sauce is ready to be enjoyed once cooled!
Method 3 of 4: Making a Light-Textured Caramel Sauce
Step 1. Prepare and measure all the required ingredients
Since caramel sauce burns very easily, prepare all the necessary ingredients before starting to make it. To make about 400 ml of caramel sauce, you will need to prepare:
- 350 grams of sugar.
- 120 ml of water.
- 240 ml heavy cream.
- Medium sized nonstick pan.
- Wooden spoon or nonstick rubber spatula.
- Pastry brush that has been dipped in a glass of water.
Step 2. Put water and sugar in a saucepan
Turn the stove on to medium heat, then cook the sugar until it's completely dissolved, no lumps, and clear, about 2-3 minutes.
Step 3. Add corn syrup, honey, or lemon juice to keep the caramel sauce texture runny
In this recipe, you need to add 1 tbsp. Add corn syrup or honey to every 240 ml of caramel sauce. These three ingredients can slow down the hardening process of the caramel texture after it is cooked.
- If you don't mind the taste of citrus fruits that tend to be sour, please add 1/2 tbsp. Squeeze the lemon into every 240 ml of caramel sauce, just after the sugar is completely dissolved in the water. After adding the lemon juice, stir the sauce for a while until all the ingredients are combined and do not stir again until the sauce is completely cooked.
- While this will prevent the caramel sauce from crystallizing, the lemon juice will affect the taste of the sauce. However, if you don't mind the slightly sour taste of the caramel sauce, feel free to use this method!
Step 4. Use the wet pastry sauce to clean the edges in the pan
Turn up the heat slightly, then apply a damp pastry brush to the rim of the pan to remove any excess sugar-water mixture that has stuck to it. If not cleaned, the hardened sugar solution can get into the sauce and make it crystallize in texture.
Step 5. Cook the caramel sauce for 15 minutes without stirring at all
Turn the stove over to medium to high heat, then cook the caramel sauce without stirring it. In particular, stirring the caramel sauce can make the texture crystallize and reduce the deliciousness of the taste. Therefore, be patient to wait until the caramel sauce is completely cooked. While waiting for the sauce to cook, it's best not to do anything else, especially since cooked caramel sauce is very easy to burn.
Step 6. Turn off the stove once the color of the caramel sauce turns light brown
When the bubbles on the surface of the caramel start to expand and pop slowly, the caramel sauce is most likely cooked and ready to serve. In particular, if the color of the caramel sauce has turned light brown, immediately turn off the stove.
Step 7. Add heavy cream once the caramel sauce turns dark brown
Once the stove is turned off, the sauce should gradually darken. When the color has turned dark brown, pour in a spoonful of heavy cream very carefully, especially since caramel sauce is very hot and is prone to splattering in all directions when exposed to heavy cream. Then, use a nonstick spatula to stir the sauce.
- It should only take about a minute for the caramel sauce to darken.
- If the sauce is too dark in color, such as very dark brown or even black, or if it smells like burning from the pan, the caramel sauce has burnt and you will have to repeat the process from scratch. Trust me, the charred caramel sauce will taste so bitter that it's not worth eating!
Step 8. Slowly pour in the remaining heavy cream, keeping an eye on the sauce splashing in between the creaming process
Use a spoon to gradually add the remaining heavy cream. Between pouring, always stir the sauce with a nonstick spatula. The caramel sauce is ready to serve if there is no more cream left!
Step 9. Let the caramel sit at room temperature until it cools down a bit
Ideally, the caramel sauce needs to be allowed to sit for five minutes to half an hour first to allow it to cool. If you feel the caramel is cold enough, try feeling the air above it to identify whether or not the hot steam is still escaping. If your palms are still hot, it means that the caramel sauce needs to sit longer.
Method 4 of 4: Coating Apples with Caramel
Step 1. Keep the apples in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator
If you wish, you can also store apples for a longer time, especially since the cold temperature helps the caramel sauce to set quickly once the apples are dipped in it. As a result, the sauce will not drip onto the table or kitchen floor afterwards.
Step 2. Wash and dry the apples
Rinse the apples in cold water while rubbing the surface with your fingers to remove any dirt and/or chemicals adhering to them. Then, use a paper towel or clean cloth to dry the apples. Make sure the apples are completely dry because any residual water, no matter how small, can prevent the caramel sauce from adhering completely to the apple's surface.
Step 3. Remove the apple stem and pierce the apple with an ice cream stick
Make sure the apples are firmly in place so they don't fall off when they are dipped in caramel! If necessary, gently shake the apple to make sure the ice cream stick is firmly seated inside.
Step 4. Rub the surface of the apple with fine-textured sandpaper
If possible, use a finer particle size of 120-200 grit sandpaper. Don't rub the apple with too much force until the skin peels off! Remember, this method you do only to scrape the wax layer on the surface of the apple.
Step 5. Make sure the caramel temperature is not too hot when the apples are dipped in it
Warm caramel sauce is the best option to use in this recipe. Therefore, once the caramel sauce has melted, try letting it sit for five minutes before dipping the apples in. If the temperature is too hot, the caramel sauce will likely slip on the surface of the apple and continue to drip when the apple is dipped in it.
Let the caramel sauce stay in the pan while the apples are dipped in
Step 6. Dip the apples in the caramel sauce
Then, use a nonstick spatula to scoop out the caramel sauce and spread it all over the apples. While the process is in progress, rotate the apples so that the caramel layer is evenly distributed.
Step 7. Place the apples on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper
First, coat the parchment paper with butter or spray a little oil on the surface. Then, immediately place the apples that have been dipped in caramel sauce on the baking sheet, and place the pan in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to a few hours. Once refrigerated, caramelized apples can be served as one of the main dishes at any type of event you are hosting!
Once the caramel has hardened, feel free to add any decorations or toppings you want, such as by brushing the surface of the apples with, or even dipping them in, white chocolate or melted milk chocolate and then dusting them with a mixture of powdered sugar and cinnamon
Tips
- Find a caramel recipe that suits your taste buds! Some people don't even mind adding butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and sweetened condensed milk to their caramel sauce recipe to sweeten the taste.
- Caramel sauce can be stored for up to three months in the refrigerator.
- To melt caramel candy, please follow the tips outlined in the article How to Melt Caramel.
