Traditional Dry Caramel Method for Dairy Free Caramel

This dairy free caramel made with the traditional dry caramel method has a deeper taste and color than our easy caramel recipe. It's more difficult to make, but is rewarding once you accomplish this! It has a slightly burnt taste to it, so my kids prefer the easy method caramel.

Makes about 1 cup of caramel sauce

Gluten free, dairy free, peanut free, vegan. Soy free if using the Country Crock plant butter STICKS (the tubs contain soybean oil)

Course Condiments, Sauces, & Spreads, Desserts

Cuisine American

Keyword dairy free caramel, dairy free caramel sauce, dry caramel

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Cooling time 2

Total Time 2 20

Servings Tablespoons

Calories 90kcal

Author Adapted from a recipe by Broma Bakery

Equipment

Small heavy bottom saucepan

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
5 Tablespoons Country Crock Plant Butter sticks* room temperature
¼ cup Silk dairy free half and half
dash salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Heat the white sugar and cream of tartar in a small heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-low heat. At first it will look like nothing is happening, but the sugar will begin to melt after a few minutes.
Stir the sugar only occasionally. You’ll notice it will start to clump up at first until it starts to melt. Use a spoon when you stir the sugar, don’t use a whisk yet. The sugar will start to melt into a liquid after about 5-10 minutes and it will darken as it melts.
As soon as the sugar is completely melted, take it off the heat immediately so it doesn’t scorch and have a burnt taste (unless you like that slightly burnt taste).
Immediately whisk in the room temperature dairy free butter. It will bubble violently and darken some more once you add the butter and whisk it in, this is normal.
Whisk the butter in as best you can. It will look like the butter will not want to mix with the melted sugar at first, but keep whisking until it's mostly mixed in. Once you add the dairy free half and half it will all come together.
Whisk in half of the dairy free half and half to the pan and whisk to mix. Add the rest of the half and half and mix again. The mixture will bubble again and darken some more each time you add the dairy free half and half, which is normal.
Whisk in the dash of salt and the vanilla extract.
Pour the caramel into a jar or other heat-proof container to cool. The caramel will look runny at first, but will thicken as it cools.
To clean up your pan, spoons, and whisk, fill the pan with really hot or boiling water and let the utensils soak in the pan. Any hardened sugar from stirring the melting sugar will eventually dissolve.
One it's cooled, store in the fridge for up to a 1-2 weeks or freeze for 3-4 months.

Notes

* So far I haven't used other kinds of dairy free butter in this recipe so I'm not sure how other brands of dairy free butter will work in this recipe.

Nutrition estimates are for 1 Tablespoon of caramel

Nutrition