Thick, rich, sweet & salty carrot cake salted caramel sauce that tastes just like perfectly-spiced carrot cake, in caramel form.
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carrot cake salted caramel sauce recipe
If you’re looking for a quick and delicious carrot cake salted caramel sauce you can make at home, you’ve definitely come to the right place. This basically tastes like carrot cake in salted caramel sauce form thanks to carrot juice, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. It’s thick, rich, and super easy to make, and makes the most delicious ice cream topping or carrot cake latte, so let’s get into it! ☺︎
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. I do provide cup measurements but please note that I test all my recipes in grams and can not guarantee that your bake will turn out like mine. This kitchen scale is super cheap and a great starter scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It is important for the butter and cream to be at room temperature so that they incorporate well with the caramel. Take out your butter and cream at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hr. 30 min. before starting the recipe.
Be very careful when adding in the cream and butter:
In order for the sugar to fully caramelize, it has to reach 360°F / 182°C. When we add in the butter and cream, lots of steam comes up from the sauce since the mixture is so hot. Use a long whisk and stay back to be sure to not hurt yourself while adding in the butter and cream to the salted caramel sauce!
The difference between a wet and dry caramel:
There are two types of caramel: wet and dry. A wet caramel is made by caramelizing sugar and water together, while a dry caramel is made just with sugar. We’re making a wet caramel here and replacing the water with carrot juice.
ingredients for carrot cake salted caramel sauce:
- Granulated sugar: the base of the caramel.
- Carrot juice: use pure carrot juice (one with no sugar added) here. I used one that had a little bit of lemon added into it (Lakewood brand), which works extra well because lemon can help inhibit sugar crystals. If you can’t find this brand I’d recommend adding 1 tsp. of lemon juice into the caramel along with the carrot juice.
- Unsalted butter: helps make the caramel smooth and velvety. You can swap in salted butter for unsalted if that is what you have on hand, just be careful when adding additional salt. I would recommend adding in the extra salt 1/4 tsp. at a time and tasting to make sure it does not end up too salty.
- Heavy whipping cream: helps smooth out the caramel and make it pourable.
- Salt: the perfect balance to the sweetness of the caramel. I used just regular table salt, but if you want to use sea salt or flaky sea salt you should double the amount.
- Ground cinnamon, ginger, and cloves: for your classic carrot cake spice flavors. In a pinch you can replace the ginger and cloves with extra cinnamon.
- Vanilla: I love using vanilla bean paste because you get to see those nice vanilla bean speckles, but vanilla extract will work perfectly as well.
carrot cake salted caramel sauce recipe q&a
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – you could even quadruple it if you really love caramel! 🙂 It keeps super well in the freezer.
can I make this without salt?
If you’re not a huge fan of salted caramel, but are a big fan of caramel sauce feel free to omit the added salt from the recipe. I will say that salt doesn’t only make things salty, but really brings out the flavor and sweetness of any food or baked good. Therefore I recommend at least adding 1/8 tsp. of salt to this recipe. If you are looking for just a hint of saltiness, you can try making this caramel with salted butter, or add in a pinch of salt and taste until you’re happy with the flavor.
the cream hardened – what should I do?
When you’re adding in the cream to the hot caramel, it may seize or harden up a little bit but should go away with continuous whisking. If the cream is not combining with the rest of the sauce, set your caramel back on medium-low heat and constantly whisk until the caramel smooths out.
why is my caramel so runny?
Right after making the caramel sauce, it is super runny and definitely not thick at all. This is because all the ingredients (especially the butter) are all super warm and melted. The sauce will significantly thicken up once it has cooled in the fridge.
how to store homemade salted caramel sauce
Because this caramel is made with cream, you’ll need to store it in an airtight container in the fridge where it will keep well for 1 week. For longer term storage, you can freeze this caramel for up to 3 months.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Carrot Cake Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 200 g granulated sugar (1 c.)
- 80 g pure carrot juice* (2 ⅔ oz.)
- 56 g unsalted butter room temperature (¼ c.)
- 130 g heavy whipping cream room temperature (5 oz.)
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp. ground ginger
- ⅛ tsp. ground cloves
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
- Add the sugar and pure carrot juice to a medium-sized saucepan. Set the mixture over low heat and stir until all of the sugar has dissolved.
- Increase the heat to medium and do not stir the mixture. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer, then simmer it for ~10 minutes or until it darkens in color, keeping a close eye on it.
- Add in the butter and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- Take the mixture off of the heat, and slowly whisk in the heavy cream until it is completely incorporated into the caramel. Whisk in the salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and vanilla.
- Allow the caramel to cool down in the fridge to thicken up before serving. Enjoy with apples, apple pie, brownies, cheesecake, carmelitas, carrot cake, coffee – or by the spoonful!
