This rich Bourbon Caramel Sauce recipe is the perfect homemade addition to any special dessert! Drizzle it over a vanilla ice cream sundae or as a topping for moist butter cake for a dish that will satisfy any sweet tooth.
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This decadent homemade caramel sauce features extra flavor from the addition of bourbon! The end result is a rich, delicious sauce that only requires a few ingredients and comes together in minutes.
Why This Recipe Works
Featuring common ingredients you probably have on hand already, this salted caramel sauce is your new favorite dessert topping for only a handful of ingredients!
It's beyond simple to make and has an extra kick of flavor thanks to the vanilla and oaky bourbon notes. This is so good you'll want to eat it on its own with a spoon, but it makes an amazing glaze or topping!
Need some dessert inspiration? Add your caramel bourbon sauce to a batch of Caramel Apple Crisp, Apple Pie Bars, these Caramel Rice Crispy Treats, or an indulgent Kentucky Butter Cake!
Ingredients Needed
- White Sugar: Also called granulated sugar, this is the same kind used for most baking.
- Heavy Cream: It's important to use heavy cream for a rich and thick caramel sauce!
- Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter so I can add salt later to my liking.
- Sea Salt: This pairs perfectly with the sweet buttery caramel for some additional depth of flavor.
- Bourbon: With notes of caramel already included, bourbon is a great way to give your caramel drizzle some extra oomph!
How to Make this Bourbon Caramel Sauce
- Step 1: Melt sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, swirling often to prevent the hot sugar from burning.
- Step 2: Once the sugar has melted and taken on a deep amber color (the same golden color of honey), reduce to low temperature and add the butter.
- Step 3: Once the butter is fully incorporated into the sugar mixture, slowly whisk in heavy cream and simmer until smooth.
- Step 4: Take off heat and add sea salt and bourbon, then mix well.
Recipe Tips
- Transfer your bourbon caramel sauce to a glass jar or container for safe storage. You can keep it in the fridge or freezer, but it should also be fine at room temperature for a couple of days.
- Making caramel can be a little tricky, so be aware that changes in temperature and adding ingredients will cause the mixture to bubble and steam and this is perfectly normal!
- When you add the heavy cream, the mixture might seize up. Keep the heat on low and keep stirring and it should come together.
- Be sure to keep an eye on the sugar--you don't want to overcook or burn it.
- You can also make this caramel sauce alcohol-free by simply omitting the bourbon.
- Try other dark liquors like rum, whiskey, scotch, or brandy to customize this sauce to your liking!
- For serving ideas, pair your caramel with apple slices or other fresh fruit, ice cream, mini cheesecakes, french toast, or brownies.
Recipe FAQ's
Yes, the bourbon is added after all the cooking has been done so there is a small amount of alcohol in the sauce. It's not enough to really effect you and is more there for flavor.
The 3 major ingredients for caramel are sugar, butter, and heavy cream. Other things can be added for extra flavor and variation, but you can make a delicious caramel with just those three.
Yes and no! Bourbon is a specific kind of whiskey, so all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. For a whiskey to be a bourbon, it has to be made in the US, aged in charred oak barrels, and include a certain percentage of corn for its grain.
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Bourbon Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons butter unsalted
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ tablespoon bourbon optional
Instructions
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, add the granulated sugar.
- Swirl the pan occasionally, allowing the sugar to melt, and come to a boil for 6-7 minutes.
- Once the sugar is golden amber in color (the color of honey), reduce the temperature to low and add in the butter.
- *NOTE* This will cause the melted sugar to bubble and steam violently!
- Continue whisking in the butter until completely melted.
- Slowly add the heavy cream to the caramel sauce.
- *NOTE* Adding the cream will also cause the caramel to bubble and steam violently!
- Continue whisking on low heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes until smooth.
- *NOTE* When the heavy cream is added, the caramel sugar may seize a bit; this is normal. Keep it on the low heat, slowly stirring constantly to break up the pieces. Once it comes back to a simmer, it will smooth out.
- Remove from heat and add the fine sea salt and bourbon, if desired.
- *Note*: If you add the bourbon, the caramel will bubble again.
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