Pumpkin Caramel
This pumpkin caramel is a sweet, buttery, delicious sauce made from our classic homemade caramel with subtle hints of pumpkin.
Gather your ingredients
- Granulated sugar
- Water
- Unsalted butter – make sure it’s room temp. and cut into small cubes
- Heavy cream – cold cream can make the caramel seize, so let it come to room temperature or warm it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.
- Pumpkin puree – make sure you’re using 100% pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie mix!
- Vanilla extract
- Pumpkin spice – store bought works great or you can make yours at home with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
- Salt
How to Make Pumpkin caramel
01. Prepare your ingredients
Before you start, make sure all of your ingredients are measured and ready. This helps the process go by a lot smoother and quicker! Making caramel requires your full attention once it’s on the stove, so having everything prepped is key.
02. Boil water and sugar
In a saucepan over medium heat, boil the water and sugar. Avoid stirring at this stage, as this will cause the sugar to crystallize. Instead, gently swirl the pan if needed. The sugar will go through stages— first melting into a clear liquid, then bubbling, and finally turning a deep amber color. Keep a close eye on it to avoid burning.
03. Add butter and heavy cream
Carefully stir in the softened, cubed butter. The mixture will bubble up vigorously, but keep stirring until the butter is completely melted. Pour in the heavy cream, continuing to stir as the mixture bubbles up again. Stir until the cream is fully incorporated.
03. Add the remaining ingredients
Remove from the heat and whisk in the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, pumpkin spice, and salt until combined.
05. Cool and store
Allow the caramel to slightly cool before using. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 month. The caramel will solidify in the fridge, so reheat it to the desired consistency when ready to use again.
Troubleshooting + Tips
The caramel is too hard after cooling. What should I do? It was probably cooked too long or at a high temperature. To fix this, reheat the caramel gently with a splash of heavy cream or water until it reaches the desired consistency. For future batches, make sure to watch the caramel closely and remove it from heat once it reaches the desired color.
The caramel crystallized when I added the cream. What happened? Crystallization can occur if the cream was too cold. Make sure the heavy cream is at room temperature before adding it to the caramel. If crystallization does occur, you can try reheating the caramel and gently stirring to smooth it out.
How to serve
There’s SO many ways to serve this pumpkin caramel! Here’s a few of our favorites:
- Spread over cheesecake: try our pumpkin caramel cheesecake
- Drizzle over ice cream
- Add a spoonful to your coffee
- Use as a filling for your cakes, chocolates, or pastries
Watch how we made it:
Did you love this recipe?We’d love to see! Tag @caramelclove on Instagram!
Pumpkin Caramel
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter softened & cubed
- 1/2 cup heavy cream room temp.
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Avoid stirring at this stage, as this will cause the sugar to crystallize. Instead, gently swirl the pan if needed. Continue to boil until the mixture turns a deep golden brown color.
- Carefully stir in the cubed butter. The mixture will bubble up vigorously, but keep stirring until the butter is completely melted.
- Pour in the heavy cream, continuing to stir as the mixture bubbles up again. Stir until the cream is fully incorporated.
- Remove the saucepan from heat and whisk in the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, pumpkin spice, and salt until combined.
- Allow the caramel to slightly cool before using. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
- Transfer the cooled caramel to a glass jar or container. Refrigerate for up to 1 month. The caramel will solidify, so reheat it to the desired consistency when ready to use again.
