What you'll need

  • A large, heavy-based saucepan, preferably in a light colour so that you can see the colour of the caramel changing
  • 175 g caster sugar
  • Wooden spoon
  • Oven mitts and a long shirt to completely cover all exposed skin

Step 1

Warm your saucepan gently over a medium heat, then add the sugar and leave until the sugar begins to melt. This should take around five minutes, when you'll see the edges turning a dark golden colour. Shake the pan and leave until roughly a quarter of the sugar has melted. Do not stir the caramel during this process.

Step 2

Using your wooden spoon, gently stir the caramel for roughly ten minutes or until the sugar melts and it is completely liquid. Watch it closely, ready to take it off the heat as soon as it turns a dark amber colour with a deep red tinge. Do not rush this step or you risk the caramel turning grainy.

Step 3

Being very careful of splatter, add two tablespoons of hot water and stir well to incorporate. If any lumps appear, gently heat the caramel to melt them back down. Your caramel is now ready to use.

Take care!

When making caramel be very careful as is become incredibly hot and can cause serious burns. Always cover up any exposed skin, use oven mitts, especially when adding any additional ingredients which have a tendency to make it splatter, and keep some iced water close by to plunge your hands into if they do get burnt. As tempting as it is, do not taste the caramel until it is completely cool.

Caramel ideas

Now that you've perfected the art of making your own caramel, use it to make one of the following yummy desserts:

For more sweet, gooey goodness check out our Caramel recipes collection.