With just 5 ingredients, this easy Toffee Sauce is irresistible with a deep caramelised flavour and a smooth, velvety consistency. In under 15 minutes, you can have a jar of this luxurious sauce to drizzle over everything!
Simple-to-make, everyday dessert sauces are the key to elevating your dessert game. Whether it be a Hot Fudge Sauce, Salted Caramel Sauce or this Toffee Sauce, having a jar in the fridge on hand will be a total game changer.
My Toffee Sauce recipe is the perfect sauce to add to your scrapbook of well-loved recipes. It has an intense buttery caramel flavour that's both rich and sweet in flavour. Serve your toffee sauce warm or let it chill in the fridge to a spoonable consistency. If you eat it by the spoon...I won't tell!
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❓ What's the Difference Between Toffee Sauce and Caramel Sauce?
So, toffee sauce and caramel sauce actually contain the same core ingredients - sugar, butter and cream. However, it's the type of sugar and how the ingredients come together that make a toffee sauce different.
In caramel, we use white sugar, whereas toffee sauce uses light brown or dark brown sugar. The high molasses content in this sugar imparts a deeper, more rounded flavour profile to toffee sauce, whilst also deepening the colour.
With toffee sauce, all the ingredients are added together into a saucepan and heated until the sugar and butter have melted, the ingredients have emulsified together and thickened to form a toffee sauce. Whereas, with caramel sauce, the sugar is melted until amber in colour before adding the butter and then cream. It's a long process that has a couple of extra pinch points.
🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
There are so many reasons to love this recipe! Once you see just how great toffee sauce is- I guarantee it'll be on repeat in your household!
- Uses basic ingredients. All the ingredients are basic pantry or fridge staples that you'll likely have on hand. Perfect for a last-minute craving.
- Is simple to make. The method to make this Easy Toffee Sauce could not be any simpler. Add all the ingredients at once and heat until thickened. I mean - totally easy right?!
- Has an incredible flavour. Toffee sauce has such a well-rounded depth flavour with a smokey nuttiness imparted from the molasses in the sugar. This is reason enough it's the UK's favourite sauce on a Sticky Toffee Pudding!
- It's a crowd pleaser. Bring out a jar of Toffee Sauce to drizzle over cakes, cheesecake, pancakes and waffles, fresh fruit, ice cream, brownies (the list goes on) and you'll be everyone's favourite host!
🧾 Ingredients Needed
With literally 3 core ingredients and 2 extra I like to add to boost flavour, this recipe could not be more basic. I've made a couple of notes regarding these staple ingredients below.
- Cream - Use heavy cream or double cream for the high-fat content. Just make sure it's at room temperature and not cold as it could cause the toffee sauce to sieze if it's cold when added.
- Butter - I recommend unsalted butter. I prefer to add salt to taste. Chop the butter into small cubes and have it at room temperature so that it melts in the saucepan quickly.
- Sugar - Brown sugar is specified in the recipe for the additional flavour imparted from the molasses. Alternatively, you can use light brown sugar too.
- Vanilla - Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract can be used interchangeably in the recipe. The extra vanilla layers well with the sweetness of the brown sugar.
- Salt - A half teaspoon of flaked salt is just enough to balance the sweetness of the sauce. I'm a lover of the sweet/salty combo, but if you'd prefer to leave out the salt then please do.
📖 Variations
There are quite a few ways that you can alter the flavour profile of toffee sauce with some simple add ins. Here are a couple of ideas
- Espresso toffee sauce: Add-in a teaspoon of espresso powder for a gorgeous coffee-flavoured note to the sauce. Perfect when drizzling the sauce in your iced latte!
- Spiced toffee sauce: Add your favourite spices such as pumpkin spice, cinnamon, ginger and all-spice into the sauce. The perfect warming anecdote to Autumn baking. I'm dreaming of this toffee sauce over apple pie!
- Bourbon toffee sauce: Add a couple of tablespoons of your favourite bourbon into the sauce at the start. You'll have the most incredible hum of bourbon that hits the back of your palate.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make
I can't wait for you to see how simple the process of making this luxurious toffee sauce is.
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
STEP 1. Add all the core ingredients to the pan. Add the brown sugar, butter and cream to a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat (Image 1).
Melt the sugar and butter. Whilst stirring continuously, let the butter gradually melt, the sugar dissolves and the cream warms up until the mixture is emulsified well (Images 2 & 3).
TIP: The butter contains water and the droplets attracts the sugar crystals which can cling to the side of the pan. When they drop back into the toffee sauce they can create a grainy texture. To avoid this stir the sauce constantly. I like to use a rubber spatula as this can scrape the sides of the pan removing any crystals.
STEP 2. Increase the heat for the sauce to thicken. Once the butter, sugar and cream have fully emulsified then increase the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a bubble for 2-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened (Image 4).
You'll know that the toffee sauce is thick enough when it coats the back of a spoon (Image 5).
STEP 3. Add the vanilla and salt. Remove the toffee sauce from the heat and stir in the vanilla bean paste and flaked salt. Mix in well (Images 6 & 7).
Pour the sauce into a bowl or glass jar (Image 8 below).
NOTE: The toffee sauce is of a thick, pourable consistency when hot (Image 9). As it cools, it will thicken and when refrigerated, becomes a spoonable consistency (Image 10).
🥣 How To Serve
The smell in itself is so enticing. But one lick of a spoon and you'll be totally taken by how delicious this toffee sauce is. Be careful though- wait until it's cooled a bit before being tempted with a lick as any type of toffee or caramel sauce will burn when piping hot.
Drizzle over any type of dessert. Here are some examples:
- Mascarpone Ice Cream
- San Sebastian Cheesecake
- Chocolate Brownies
- Banana Bread
- Apple Pear Pie
- French Apple Tart
- Traditional Crêpes
💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Use room temperature cream otherwise the sauce can seize.
- Use soft butter so that it melts quicker and emulsifies better.
- Heat the sauce on low so that the sugar can fully dissolve to avoid a grainy sauce.
- Keep stirring all the time so the sauce heats and thickens evenly and doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan.
📋 Recipe FAQs
Either the sugar crystals from the side of the pan have developed through a lack of stirring the sauce consistently as it heats. Or the sauce was heated too quickly and the brown sugar hasn't dissolved fully.
Butterscotch sauce is primarily made up of butter and brown sugar whilst toffee sauce is made of butter, brown sugar and cream.
Scoop your portion into a microwaveable bowl and heat in 30-second bursts in the microwave on high until the sauce is loosened and bubbling.
❄️ Storage and Freezer Instructions
To store: Cool the toffee sauce fully to room temperature before refrigerating in an airtight jar or sealable container for up to 2 weeks.
To freeze: Once cooled to room temperature, spoon sauce into individual portions into sealable containers and freeze for up to two months. Thaw at room temperature.
🍮 More Caramel Flavoured Recipes
If you tried this Easy Toffee Sauce recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
WPRM RECIPE CARD
This post was originally published in August 2019 but has been updated with new photos, new content and a revised recipe.
📖 Recipe
Easy Toffee Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 240 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- 135 g brown sugar, firmly packed, or light brown sugar
- 110 g unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon flaked sea salt
Instructions
- Add all the core ingredients to the pan. Add the brown sugar, butter and cream to a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat. Melt the sugar and butter. Whilst stirring continuously, let the butter gradually melt, the sugar dissolves and the cream warms up until the mixture is emulsified well.
- Increase the heat for the sauce to thicken. Once the butter, sugar and cream have fully emulsified then increase the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a bubble for 2-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened.You'll know that the toffee sauce is thick enough when it coats the back of a spoon
- Add the vanilla and salt. Remove the toffee sauce from the heat and stir in the vanilla bean paste and flaked salt. Mix in well. Pour the sauce into a bowl or glass jar. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend that you bake using digital scales for a more accurate result. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
Fe
haven't made this yet - but looking forward to trying it. Would be helpful to know approximately how much it yields - so I can be prepared with the correct jars.
Emma
Hi Fe- makes apprimately 1.5 cups worth