I read through some of the other answers about substituting milk for cream in caramel sauce and it seems that the sauce wont thicken because of the fat content of whole milk being too low,....so I was wondering if corn starch would work??
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3Why would you want to thicken your sauce? The cream is there to dilute it.– rumtscho ♦Apr 9, 2017 at 8:32
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The mention of other answers makes it sound like you were directly referring to another question - it may help if you link that question, to better show where your question is coming from.– MeghaApr 10, 2017 at 6:52
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@rumtscho there is a difference between diluting for flavour and diluting for texture. The cream is there to reduce the sweetness slightly, and to create a very different effect - a richer 'creamier' sauce than just pure caramel, not just to water it down– canardgrasApr 10, 2017 at 9:30
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@canardgras I agree that the sauce tastes different with cream. I still don't understand what "the sauce won't thicken" means - the caramel does not thicken after the cream is added, it thins.– rumtscho ♦Apr 10, 2017 at 10:08
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@rumtscho - I see what you mean now– canardgrasApr 10, 2017 at 10:09
1 Answer
@Brooke, I'm not sure you understand how caramel sauce is made. A mixture of sugar and water is cooked (much the way candy is cooked), basically till it reaches a thread stage - 110° to 112°C (230° to 234°F). After it's finished cooking, the cream is stirred in.
I'm not discussing method but only giving a basic idea. If you were to thicken it with cornstarch, you might make something palatable to put on desserts but it wouldn't be caramel. It's important to cook the sugar till it caramelized. There's no brown sugar in it. You didn't mention that but others reading this in the future might think it's needed.
It's possible you could use evaporated milk instead of cream but there's no guarantee. I've not tried it. Yes, real caramel sauce is rich and sweet but that's the purpose of it and not a lot is meant to be eaten ...or often.