Irish Cream Caramel Sauce

Asked by daichip. Answered on 20th September 2016

Full question

Tried the Salted Caramel Sauce and it was fantastic first time. If I wanted to make the same but with Irish cream liqueur, and omit the salt, will it still work?

Our answer

Nigella's Salted Caramel Sauce is an easy sauce made with butter, sugar, golden syrup and double cream. It is possible to add a liqueur to the sauce and if you use an Irish cream liqueur then we would stick with a traditional version and avoid using one of the more exotically-flavoured varieties. As alcohol evaporates when boiled, and can cause hot sugar-based mixtures to bubble up, we would suggest letting the sauce cool slightly before adding any liqueur. Also as too much liqueur will mask the taste of the caramel, add a little at a time, tasting carefully as you go.

The salt in the sauce helps to balance the sugar and butter and you may find that a pinch of salt will help to bring out the flavours. If you add salt at the end then you may find it easier to use a flaky sea salt that can be crumbled in and will dissolve more easily in the cooled sauce.