Why does my caramel sauce fail?

Question

Every now and then I make caramel sauce for this recipe by caramelizing sugar, but sometimes it either:

• Hardens
• Burns
• Doesn't have that nice caramel colour

What are some tips to avoid the above situations?

The recipe states to:

Add the sugar to a hot pan over medium heat and caramelize. Slice bananas add to pan, and coat them in the caramel. Add butter and allow to melt. Add the finely sliced chili if you like it hot, and stir. Pour in the rum, and flambe (set it on fire – carefully). Add coconut milk and twirl.

Answer 1

It sounds like you may be having temperature control issues. If it's not dark enough, keep it over low heat for a bit longer. If it's hardening/burning, it's probably caused by one of the following:

1) your stovetop (if burner isn't turned low enough or burner is too large and overheats sides of pan)

2) your pan (easy to burn things if your pan isn't sufficiently thick-bottomed)

3) lack of attention during the carmelization process (you need to move the sugar towards the center once carmelization begins to prevent burning at the edges, but not stir it too much).

You might find these extremely detailed directions helpful for troubleshooting.

Answer 2

If it hardens, you probably need to add more liquid.

If it burns, you should have paid more attention. Caramel requires attention.

If it doesn't reach the nice caramel colour, it needs more time.

Try to use the same method, the same amount of heat, the same pot and measure your results. When the result is not what you'd expect / like, change one thing only for the next try.

Answer 3

Try a double boiler, like a ganache