Aside from apple butter and pumpkin, the one of thing you need on hand this fall is caramel. I first became hooked on salted caramel after I made this boozy version, and this ale one will make all your seasonal favorites even richer. I like the depth of flavor the pumpkin ale gives the salted dark amber caramel. Caramel making is both quick and temperamental, just a minute longer of cooking and the color and flavor change drastically. Which is why no caramel I make is the same, there’s always something richly unique with each batch. This Fall season experiment with this deliciously versatile sweet treat by using your favorite beer, whiskey, or other flavoring. When jarred, homemade caramel is a great gift for loved ones, and school teachers, but it’s also just as great to have on hand to drizzle over ice cream or your morning latte.
Pumpkin Ale Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup – Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup – Heavy Cream {room temperature}
1/4 cup – Pumpkin Ale
1 teaspoon – Ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon – Sea Salt {or coarse salt}
Recipe
Set the cream and sugar near the stove. Put 2 tablespoons of the sugar in saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the sugar begins to melt around the edges and turns amber in places {about 2 minutes} gently stir and add another 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Continue this process stirring constantly making sure the sugar is dissolved before each addition. Watch the sugar it will darken quickly.
When the caramel turns a mahogany color, remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour the cream. {It will steam and bubble over so be careful!} Once the bubbling slows down, continue adding the cream stirring gently until it is all combined. If you have lumps, heat the caramel over low heat until it is smooth again.
Stir in the salt, and let cool until just warm then add the ale. Transfer to an air tight container and refrigerate. Serve warm or cool.
