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Caramel Sauce

The trio of sugar, cream, and butter can’t be beat. In its liquid form here, it can be drizzled on desserts—or even breakfast treats.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, preferably cultured, at room temperature

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put the sugar in a large saucepan. Add just enough water to dampen it. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking until amber, swirling the pan occasionally.

    Step 2

    Remove from the heat and stir in the cream—be careful, the mixture will bubble up—and then the butter. Continue stirring until the mixture is well blended. Let cool to room temperature. The sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Reprinted with permission from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes by Jean-Georges Vongerichten with Genevieve Ko. Copyright © 2011 by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most influential chefs in the world, having single-handedly redefined haute French cuisine, lightening and refining it by adding select Asian accents. He is the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in fourteen cities around the world. His flagship restaurant, Jean Georges, at New York's Columbus Circle, is one of six restaurants in the United States to have been awarded three coveted Michelin stars; it received four stars from the New York Times. The winner of multiple James Beard Foundation awards, he lives in New York City and Waccabuc, New York, with his family. Genevieve Ko is a cookbook author and the senior food editor at Good Housekeeping magazine. She has written for Martha Stewart Living, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking and lives in New York City with her family.
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