You know what takes someone from being a good cook to an excellent cook? Knowing how and when to use salt. And guess what? It’s one of the most budget-friendly cooking techniques you can use too. ;) Salt isn’t just about “saltiness”, it actually helps your tongue distinguish different flavors. So you’ll often hear me talking about adding a bit of salt at the end of a recipe to really make the flavors “pop.” This recipe for Homemade Salted Caramel Iced Coffee is the perfect example. A little bit of salt amplifies the nutty flavor of the caramel and perfectly contrasts the sweetness, making a truly multi-dimensional flavor. You’ve got to try it!
I’m always so tempted by the delicious looking takeaway coffees at the coffee shop, but they can really add up in cost. That’s why I love making my own iced coffee at home using this simple recipe! Serve it with some homemade biscotti, and you’ve got a cafe-worthy treat without breaking the bank.
Homemade Salted Caramel Iced Coffee
Servings 5Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 Tbsp butter*
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5-6 cups strong coffee
Instructions
- To make the salted caramel, add the granulated sugar and water to a heavy bottomed sauce pot. Place the pot over medium-high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved and it begins to boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and allow the sugar to boil, without stirring, until it turns a deep amber color (about 7-10 minutes).
- Once the sugar turns deep amber, remove it from the heat immediately, as it can go from caramelized to burned rather quickly. Whisk in the heavy cream until smooth (if the caramelized sugar clumps from the cold cream, simply return the pot to very low heat and whisk until it has dissolved in). Whisk in the butter, salt, and vanilla extract.
- Allow the caramel to cool (it will thicken considerably as it cools). This batch of caramel makes about 10 ounces and can stay refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.
- To make the Salted Caramel Iced coffee, place about 2 Tbsp of the salted caramel in the bottom of a mug or heat safe cup. Add 8 ounces strong coffee and stir until the caramel has dissolved.
- Fill a separate serving glass with ice (if desired, drizzle more caramel inside the glass first). Pour the coffee and caramel mixture over the ice. Serve immediately, or add a splash of milk or cream, and a small pinch of sea salt.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Make a Salted Caramel Iced Coffee – Step by Step Photos
Making homemade salted caramel is a fast process, so I like to gather my ingredients before I begin. You’ll need 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup water, 3/4 cup heavy cream, 3 Tbsp butter, 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
Add 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water to a heavy bottomed sauce pot.
Place the pot over medium-high heat and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to boil. Once the sugar is fully dissolved, turn the heat down to medium-low and allow it to continue to boil without stirring until it turns a deep amber color (about 7-10 minutes). Once it reaches this color, remove it from the heat IMMEDIATELY. Sugar can pass from caramelized to burned rather quickly. If you’re worried, take it off the heat when it’s even slightly lighter than this.
Whisk in 3/4 cup heavy cream until the mixture is smooth. If the caramelized sugar seizes up from the cold cream, place the pot back over low heat and whisk continually until it dissolves in, then remove it from the heat again.
Whisk in 3 Tbsp butter, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. The caramel is now done! If you decide to taste it at this point, be very VERY careful. Molten sugar is hotter than it seems and will burn you badly.
The caramel will be quite runny while it’s hot, but will thicken up as it cools. You can keep this in your refrigerator for about 3 weeks (and have many delicious coffees!).
To make each Homemade Salted Caramel Iced Coffee, add 2 Tbsp of the caramel to a mug or heat proof container and add 8 oz. strong coffee. Stir until the caramel is dissolved. Because the caramel contains heavy cream and butter, the coffee will already be quite creamy!
For extra effect, you can drizzle more caramel inside the glasses you’ll be serving the iced coffee in. Fill the serving glass with ice cubes (larger chunks are better than crushed because they don’t melt quite as quickly and will not dilute your drink). Pour the coffee-caramel mixture over the ice cubes.
You can serve the drink as-is, or finish it off with a splash of milk and another small pinch of salt. Either way, they’re GREAT.
I’m not sure how to price these puppies because coffee can be really confusing to break down (beans to grounds to brewed?), but I’ll bet you $5 that they’re at least half the cost of what you’d pay in a coffee shop for a Salted Caramel Iced Coffee!!
I’ve had some similar problems as others! Crystalizing before it could turn amber and seizing up. I followed cooking instructions from Bigger Bolder Baking (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/how-to-make-caramel/) up until taking it off heat to stir in the heavy cream, and her tips have been a lifesaver! Without simmering, dissolve ALL of the sugar with the water. Bring to a simmer and leave it alone, and if any crystals start to form on the sides, brush them back in with a wet pastry brush to prevent them from falling in and corrupting the mixture! Love this recipe and using BBB instructions has made it turn out perfectly every time. Takes a bit longer, but combined these recipes work wonders :)
I had an issue with the caramel solidifying while boiling, I solved this by not stirring it at all and adding a bit of cream of tartar. Just mix the water and sugar together off the heat until it’s like wet sand, then let it bubble away on it’s own until it’s caramelized
I failed at making caramel, but discovered white mocha sauce! I think I simmered the sugar too low and it never turned an amber color. I added the other ingredients anyway and it ended up making an exquisite white mocha sauce just like what they use at Starbucks. I’ve used the recipe successfully before and the caramel is definitely way different… but failed caramel was very yummy!!!
First time I’ve made caramel, it came out great. Took longer than the 7-10 mins, probably closer to 15-20. Going to try it on some ice cream later.
This was incredible Beth! Thanks for the recipe. Is there any way to make the caramel more syrupy instead of solid when I refrigerate it? I want to add it to cold brew, and it’s a bit of a struggle since it doesn’t dissolve and is largely solid.
Hmm, I don’t know that there is a way to make it more syrupy. When the caramel browns (caramelizes) the sugar structure changes and is then more solid at colder temperatures. You might try mixing it with a tablespoon or two of hot water before stirring it into your cold brew? Or maybe microwaving the caramel to loosen it up before stirring it into the cold brew.
Try adding water. I make a salted caramel syrup for my iced coffee, but instead of adding the cream to the caramel, I make a syrup of just water, sugar, salt and vanilla. 1 part sugar to 2 parts water. To get the creaminess I just add a touch of cream or some sweetened condensed milk to the coffee.
You could try using half and half instead of heavy cream
I wanted to make this caramel more “saucy” for the same reason. I add a bit more cream (closer to a cup) and that makes a massive difference – the caramel sauce stays more liquid this way.
I tried this yesterday and it went great! At first my sugar solidified too, but I just added more water and turned up the head again before bringing it back down to a simmer, and then it browned beautifully. I think caramelizing sugar just takes some practice. But the finished product is absolutely delicious!
My sauce turned into a solid before it darkened. I attempted this three times and the results were the same. Any idea how I can prevent this?
Another caramel recipe I’ve tried advises first simmering the water and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then turning up the heat to high and boiling the mixture til it caramelizes over. I tried the method in the recipe twice and had some trouble, but simmer-then-boil worked like a charm!
When I try this, the sugar just stays white after ten minutes and begins to solidify. Any idea why this is happening?
Does it ever begin to boil?
I continuously stir the mixture until it boils. It will boil for about 15 minutes until it begins to start solidifying.
That is a mystery! I’ve never had a sugar mixture solidify without caramelizing (browning) first. I’m really not sure what the issue might be.
I finally figured out the problem (and solution). It was most likely due to sugar crystals that hadn’t dissolved and crystallized off of it. I added a tablespoon of corn syrup to the mixture and I was able to make delicious caramel.
The corn syrup prevents sugars from forming crystals because it’s not the same type of sugar.
Aha! Thank you for following up!!
Can i substitute almond milk or regular milk for heavy cream?
Not for the caramel, unfortunately. You need the high fat content of the heavy cream for it to work correctly.
Hi. I wanted to make this, but I noticed the recipe uses white sugar instead of brown. I’ve never made caramel with anything other than brown sugar. Is it really okay to use white, granulated sugar?
Yes, it works quite well. :)
I made this tonight for the second time. Both tines it came out much lighter than the picture, but after I added the hwc I boiled it for another minute or two. As soon as it started to brown and thicken a bit, I took it off the heat and poured it into a heat resistant jar. Also, I used Xylosweet – a low carb sweetener instead of regular sugar.
I made this this afternoon, and oh my! It took me two tries to get the caramel right, as I didn’t let it boil long enough the first time. The second time the clumps formed, but like you stated, adding heat was a quick fix. I had to stop myself from eating the whole container. This is definitely a recipe I will keep for good. Thank you!
I made this for the second time tonight. It turned out wonderfully both times, but both times it took far longer than 7-10 minutes for the sugar to caramelize. I’d say close to 15 minutes with it boiling pretty good. I’m not sure why. Either way, definitely a success.
I see that you made some yummy caramel sauce here. I think I will be using it on my homemade vanilla bean ice cream as well as in my ice coffee. Thank you for the post!
Also The Americano sounds good ingredient wise, but it looks like one of the BEST cocktails I have ever had…a Pat O’Briens Hurricane!! Yummm!
Thanks! How long does it keep in the fridge?
The caramel can be stored in the fridge for about three weeks.
I made this and it after adding the cream mine looks way lighter than yours……should I cook it longer? Or is it too late now that I added the other ingredients? It tastes good…
It’s too late now that the cream is added, but next time if you cook the sugar a bit longer it will be a deeper color. Just be careful because it can go from brown to burned in a split second. It should still be quite tasty even if it is lighter.