How to make Salted Caramel sauce, from scratch

How I love the caramel sauce topping on Vanilla Ice cream!    Caramel sauce is done by mixing caramelized sugar with cream.  They are used on toppings of many desserts like creme caramel, flan, pudding, frosted cupcakes etc.  Making them, at home requires careful attention.

Safety precautions, like maintaining a considerable distance from stove-top or wearing gloves is advisable since there are chances of coming in contact with very hot sugar.  But, with little caution and attention - you can make these beauties in less than 30 minutes!

I have written this post with pics, if you have any queries- please feel free to post in the comment section.  If you are a beginner, do read our tips at the end to achieve this godly sauce.  <3

Ingredients required

• 100 grams of caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 45 grams of unsalted butter (If you are using salted butter, you can skip adding salt)
• 1/4 cup of Dairy cream (I used Saudia brand)

Method

Please keep all the ingredients handy.  In a deep and dry saucepan, add the sugar in a simmer flame.  Let the sugar melt on its own.

Please don't wander off, keep a close watch.  Don't stir.   You can tilt the pan, though if you find the sugar to be melting unevenly.  

As we find the sugar melts and slowly is turning into golden amber color.  

Sugar is completely melted and caramelized into a lovely golden brown color. Now add in salt.  

Add in butter cubes as well, and stir them up with a wooden spoon.  

After stirring, add in the cream.  As you add in cream, it may steam up or bubble up, so be careful.  Also, the cream should be in warm condition when you add.  One suggestion is that you may heat them up alternatively when you get all the sugar melted so that by the time you add the cream, it is warm.  

See how it splutters or bubbles.  If you find clumps of caramel, undissolved in cream, don't worry keep on stirring you will get a clear sauce.  

See, how I got a clear sauce.  Switch off the gas.  

I placed them in an air-tight container and refrigerated them.  There are times when you find your sauce to be too runny or too hard.  If you find them runny, you can reduce them in a saucepan.  If found too hard, you can heat them up with a tsp of cream to get the correct consistency. 

Happy cooking :D  :D  

Saltine cracker

First of all, I would like to thank Swathi Iyer for letting me suggest  this  month’s challenge.  Thanks a lot, Swathi J  For this month’s challenge, I have suggested two types of cracker – SALTINE, GRAHAM CRACKER.

So, what is this CRACKER?....

1. A cracker is an baked snack that can be sweet and savoury (Mostly savoury).  Alternatively, they are also termed as an ‘savoury cookie’.
2. Name of this snack, is believed to come from the caused noise, when these are broken into half.
3. Crackers are thin, crisp with an usual square or circle shape.  They are known to be topped with herbs, salt, spices or other seasonings.  
4. They are usually served with dips/cheese-spread/butter/milk.  
5. These cracker can be yeast-raised or baking powder raised, so in order to prevent raising of dough during baking , these crackers are drilled with holes before switching them to oven, these holes, otherwise called as docking holes, is one characteristic feature of CRACKERS. 

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CRACKER AND COOKIE:

The difference chart shown below depicts the basic differences between cracker and cookie

Commercial examples for crackers include Maska-chaska, Monaco and Brittania crackers, etc.

Lemon salt soda

My unique thirst for Lemon salt soda started, during my pregnancy period, about four years back.  I found them quite relaxing and soothing my taste-buds.  They were too addictive, to resist.  I used to order them during every restaurent visit, and even Shama grew fond of them.  It was like, one day, I thought to myself, 'why can't I make them at home?' When I googled, found that there was not accurate proportion or ratio existing between lime juice, water or plain soda.  The ratio can be experimented according to one's use.  I found following ratio quite adaptable to mine.  :)  And yes, there is no super-difference between lemon salt soda and lemon sugar soda :P , since latter requires addition of few more levels of sugar . 

I have dedicated this drink to lazy sunday afternoons, you get neck-to neck in preparing lunch and hardly there is any dessert left at refrigerator.  So, lemon salt soda comes handy in such cases :)  :)  Beleive me, it also relaxes any intense stomach from heavy sunday lunch :P :P  And, prepartion is sooo easy, that even Varsha can mix  and serve :)  Speaking about Varsha, offlate she is watching me a lot at kitchen, I can presume that she will be an wonderful chef, one day :P

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Serves: one

Ingredients required

• 1 tbspn freshly squeezed lime
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp powdered sugar
• 1 cup of cold water
• 1/2 cup of Kinley's plain soda
• Mint leaves, lemon slices and roasted cumin powder, to garnish

Method

Mix freshly squeezed lime with salt and sugar.  Lateron, add water, soda.  Garnish and serve chilled :P

Happy sundayss............. :)