Gingerbread Caramel Sauce
Homemade caramel sauce that tastes of gingerbread with the addition of molasses and warm spices. Great for using as a filling or drizzling over any dessert.
While I’m generally not a plain caramel loving person, I am usually on board for a caramel that has more nuance to its flavor, some bitterness or tart flavor added to it always makes me happy: I’ve shared my apple cider caramel (that one is my favorite on the blog) and a cranberry caramel sauce (it tastes like candy, in a good way!).
This gingerbread caramel recipe has the addition of bitter molasses which offsets the sweetness of the caramel, plus those spices give its flavor a warmer feel that works with so many things I make in the fall: with apple pie, drizzled over ice cream or cheesecakes, used as a filling for cider cupcakes, etc. Most recently I spread it over some pie dough before assembling an apple galette.
Recipe Origins
Years ago a dear friend and fellow blogger, Anita of Wild Thistle Kitchen, sent me a box of her gingerbread caramel thumbprint cookies (she has shared the recipe here) and they were just SO good they left an impression on me for quite awhile and inspired this gingerbread caramel sauce.
I worked with the template of a basic caramel sauce, namely my salted caramel, but worked in some molasses and spices too.
Recipe Ingredients
Sugar: fine granulated.
Lemon: just a few drops of fresh juice, this helps prevent sugar crystallization when the caramel is cooking.
Heavy cream: or heavy whipping cream.
Butter: salted or unsalted but be mindful when adding more salt if you’ve used salted butter.
Molasses: grandmas or for a more robust flavor, use blackstrap.
Salt: fine sea salt.
Ginger: ground (as much as I love freshly grated, it will leave bits in our otherwise smooth caramel).
Cinnamon: ground.
Vanilla: pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
How to make Gingerbread Caramel Sauce
Caramelize the Sugar
Pick a light colored (not black) heavy bottomed (not enamel) pot to use for the recipe; this will help you determine the color of the caramel and decide when to stop caramelizing.
Set the sugar in the pot and squeeze a couple of drops of lemon over it. Stir the sugar to incorporate the lemon and then spread it into an even layer.
Cover the pot: this helps to trap the heat so that the sugar melts evenly. Set it over medium low heat.
Check on the caramel every minute or so, stirring to keep the sugar melting and caramelizing evenly. Where it melts first it will then start to turn an amber color. Keep stirring until all of the sugar has melted and become a toasty brown color.
The goal here is getting all of the sugar to melt and caramelize before the bits that have already caramelized, turn bitter and burn. This means we need the heat to be steady and for it to stay somewhere between 320 F and 360 F. After 360 is when it will burn and be bitter tasting. I keep a thermometer handy so I can check and make heat adjustments if needed.
>> Sometimes the sauce looks melted but if you stir you can hear the scratch of unmelted sugar granules on the pan – be sure all the sugar has melted. If it’s caramelizing too quickly, lower the heat.
While the sugar is caramelizing, warm the heavy cream. It should not boil, we just want it at or slightly above room temperature.
>> When cold heavy cream hits the caramel it can seize and then split, this is why we warm it.
Make the Sauce
Use a long wooden spoon and very carefully and slowly pour the heavy cream in while stirring: the caramel is going to boil up but will calm down as you stir it and incorporate the cream.
Lower the temperature then add the butter and stir as it melts.
Add the molasses and stir to combine, then add in the spices.
Turn off the heat and add the vanilla – stir well to combine.
Let the caramel come to room temperature then transfer into a heat-safe sealable jar, like a mason jar.
Troubleshooting Caramel Sauce Making
Some issues that may come up if you are new to making caramel, and what to do to avoid them (or if they’ve already happened, what to do if there’s any possibility of saving it):
Crystalization
In my experience, this mostly happens with the wet method (caramelizing the sugar in some water) which we are not using here. The sugar will not really melt into a clear liquid that becomes amber, and instead it will turn cloudy – it almost looks icy. You can’t save crystalized sugar unfortunately but having the acid (in our case lemon) in the sugar helps prevent that so it shouldn’t be a problem here.
Seizing/Separating
This happens when the heavy cream is added too quickly to the caramelized sugar. The temperature of the sugar drops and you’ll see a lump form and, when you stir, it won’t turn smooth again. This is the result of the abrupt temperature change to the caramel, causing some of the sugar to solidify/harden.
I have been able to bring caramel back from this but only by very vigorously stirring it with a whisk to try to break up the lump. There may still be bits that refuse to soften, you’ll can strain the caramel through a sieve to remove them.
Burning
This can happen if the heat is uneven: either some or all of the sugar goes beyond the caramel point (360 F) and turns too dark that it becomes bitter tasting. The heat may be too high, or the caramel wasn’t stirred enough in the dry method (if you have hot spots and the sugar isn’t mixed those spots will burn). It can also happen when you’ve forgotten about it and let it cook too long, or if you just aren’t sure when to stop: experience will teach you how dark you like your caramel, I always go a shade or two darker than amber.
FAQ
Why add lemon juice?
Acids like lemon juice or vinegar, and inverted sugars like corn syrup help prevent crystallization.
What can I use the gingerbread caramel sauce for?
I’m so glad you asked because I have IDEAS! Here’s a few: using it as a cookie topping like on these pecan shortbreads, swap in this gingerbread caramel to make gingerbread caramel rolls (rather than cider caramel), drizzle it on top of a pumpkin cheesecake (baked with brown butter or no-bake), serve with a cake like this everyday apple cake, use it as a filling in these caramel sandwich cookies (I mean it would literally be perfect there especially if you stamp out a cute little gingerbread house shape!), or serve it with ice cream like this brown butter vanilla ice cream.
I am also thinking it would be excellent for using with gingerbread cookies!
How long will the gingerbread caramel sauce last?
If you keep it in the fridge in a sealed jar it can last about a month. If you have it at room temperature I’d say a week or two. In the fridge it will be too thick to pour so warm it up in the microwave before using.
Gingerbread Caramel Sauce Recipe
Gingerbread Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 200g or 1 cup fine granulated sugar
- Fresh lemon
- 60g or ¼ cup heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
- 57g or ¼ cup butter unsalted or salted (if using salted slightly reduce added salt)
- 75g or ¼ cup unsulphured molasses I use grandma’s
- ½ tsp fine sea salt less if using salted butter, half if using table salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Method
- Set the sugar in a deep, light colored heavy bottomed pot, squeeze a few drops of lemon onto it and stir to mix in the lemon. Spread the sugar in an even layer and cover the pot.
- Turn the heat on to medium and cook, stirring quite often as the sugar melts and then turns to a light brown liquid. Make sure you are stirring frequently with a long wooden spoon to avoid any hot spots or sugar burning, use the back of a spoon to break up any lumps of sugar.
- Keep stirring frequently until all of the sugar is melted and has turned an amber color - check it by pressing the wooden spoon against the bottom of the pan to check for any scratching (those are unmelted sugar granules). Keep the heat steady and under 360 F, above it and the caramel will burn. You're looking for a toasty shade of amber.
- Warm up the heavy cream, and slowly, while stirring, pour into the pot. Be careful because it will boil up. Add the butter, molasses, salt and spices.
- Stir until the butter has melted then turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Let cool to room temperature then pour into a sealable jar.
- Store in the fridge, it’ll keep for up to a month.
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