I love caramel sauce, I've found several recipes over the years. Read my notes under America's Test Kitchen for more info.
Caramel sauce is basically very simple. First you melt sugar in a pan (important note here: you do not dissolve the sugar, you melt it). When it reaches a certain stage you add cream plus usually vanilla and salt, maybe butter, rum, etc. And that's about it. However, I've tried several recipes over the years with uneven results - some sauces turn out too runny, some turn out with a bit too much of a burnt flavor.
Then just recently America's Test Kitchen ran a "How-To" article on making caramel sauce . The How-To pointed out some issues I'd figured out on my own, the most important one being: how do you determine when to add the cream to the melted sugar? Most recipes (nearly all) say to add it when the melted sugar turns a certain color - "dark golden brown", "deep amber color", "color of an old copper penny". These are worthless because the color depends on too many factors, for example: what color is your pan? Especially, how DEEP is it? If you're using a wide shallow pan then the color will have to be much darker to reach "copper penny" then if you're using a small but deep pan, where you're looking through a deeper layer of sugar. Anyway, ATK addresses this and other issues. Below is a link to both the "How-To" article and their All-Purpose Caramel Sauce recipe.
I just ran across these articles so as of this writing I haven't tried their method or recipe.
How to Make Foolproof Caramel (America's Test Kitchen)
All-Purpose Caramel Sauce (America's Test Kitchen)
Rum Caramel Sauce
Not sure where I got this recipe, I've tried it and the following one and like this one slightly better. This one has a LOT more sugar in relation to cream than the following one, also, more rum. I followed the directions exactly. The next recipe says after adding cream to continue cooking over heat until thickened. This version does NOT say to do that, so I didn't. It ended up with the consistency of maple syrup, perhaps it could have been a little thicker. And I could also experiment with more cream. Regardless, it was WONDERFUL just the way it is. I ended up having a two-bowls-of-ice-cream dessert. Also, I'm afraid the next day I took a spoon and ate all the leftover caramel sauce just standing in the kitchen.
Ingredients
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup dark rum
Instructions
Combine sugar and water. Cook over medium heat until sugar caramelizes to a dark golden brown. Slowly add the butter, then cream and whisk until smooth. Strain the sauce into a bowl and whisk in the rum. Keep warm.
Rum Caramel Sauce (Version 2)
As I said, I like the first one slightly better but I really haven't experimented all that much with this one.
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup hot water
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cold unsalted butter
Instructions
In a heavy saucepan combine the sugar and water and cook over high heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Continue to cook, swirling occasionally but never stirring the sugar mixture, until mixture thickens and turns a deep amber color, 5 to 8 minutes (NOTE: Following instructions, I took it to a fairly deep amber but the result was rather burnt-tasting. Next time try a more medium amber). Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the heavy cream; be careful, the mixture will splatter. Return the pan to the heat and reduce the heat to medium. Allow to cook until the sauce is thick and creamy, stirring occasionally to help incorporate the cream, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum, vanilla and butter. Serve warm. (If making the sauce in advance, rewarm the sauce before serving.)
Bobby Flay's Salted Caramel Sauce - From the Food Network star chef via the NY Times. I haven't tried this yet.
Best Caramel Sauce
This is from the Washington Post, as of this writing I haven't tried it yet.
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or more as needed
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, or more as needed
1 teaspoon cold unsalted butter
Instructions
1. Combine the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed, medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir a lot at first, in order to dissolve the sugar. Once it has dissolved, cook, undisturbed, until it begins to turn light golden. At this point, the water has cooked off and the sugar is starting to caramelize.
2. Continue cooking, carefully swirling the pan a bit so the caramelizing stays even, until the syrup is a deep amber color; this should take between 8 and 12 minutes. You might see the tiniest wisps of smoke coming from the syrup, too.
3. Remove from the heat. Immediately add about 1/4 cup of the cream and stir for a few seconds. The mixture is going to bubble and create a lot of steam. The caramel might seize up; this is all okay.
4. Add the remaining heavy cream or creme fraiche. Return the pan to the stove top, over medium-low heat; cook for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring with a whisk or heatproof flexible spatula until smooth and slightly thickened.
5. Add the salt and vanilla extract; taste a cooled-off sample, and adjust with more salt or vanilla extract as needed.
6. Finish by whisking in the butter until it has melted and the caramel sauce is shiny. Serve warm or at room temperature; the sauce thickens as it cools, so to make it more pourable, just warm it up a bit.