Miso Caramel

Want a recipe that sounds fancy, tastes decadent, and secretly takes very little effort? Enter: miso caramel. It makes a great little gift when you’re visiting friends, it’s the perfect thing to take box-mix brownies to the next level, and it’s perhaps best enjoyed by the spoonful right out of the jar.

Jump to the recipe to hit the ground running, or stick around for more on why this recipe is fool-proof as well as a few tips for success.

Why I love this recipe for miso caramel

4 simple ingredients

This caramel uses just four ingredients: cream, miso, butter, and sugar. That’s it. No corn syrup, no fancy salts, no wild and crazy flavorings (besides the miso).

It uses the dry caramel method

The dry caramel method might sound scarier than the “wet” method where you start with a sugar/water solution, but it’s actually much more reliable. With the wet method, sugar crystalizes easily, which ruins the whole process. If you’ve ever watched Bakeoff, you know what I’m talking about. Dry caramelization avoids that problem much more reliably.

With dry caramelization, sugar is heated directly in a dry pan with no water and no stirring at first. As it sits over medium-high heat, the sugar starts to melt at the edges and bottom. Once that happens, you begin stirring to help it melt evenly and prevent scorching. The sugar gradually turns into a smooth, amber-colored liquid with a deep, toasty aroma. Once fully melted and lump-free, the hot caramel is ready for some miso-spiked cream and butter, which gets whisked in so that it all sets up into a sauce instead of a hard candy.

No thermometer necessary

Caramelizing sugar does not require a thermometer in the way that other candy-making does. Why? Because sugar caramelization is a very easy-to-spot indicator that it has reached a specific temperature. That means that as long as you add the correct amount of butter, miso, and cream, it will set to the correct consistency. No thermometer necessary—just use your eyes and your nose.

Tips for caramel success

Have everything ready before you start.

I am not a “mise en place” nut. I don’t mind a bit of chaos in the kitchen. But when making caramel, everything has to run like a well-oiled machine. Once the sugars start to caramelize, you will not have time to carefully measure the rest of your ingredients. If you don’t add them immediately, the whole pan will burn in a matter of seconds, and you’ll have a giant (possibly dangerous) mess on your hands. So make sure your ingredients and tools are ready to go before the pan meets the heat.

Use a light-colored pan (if you have one)

Don’t use cast iron or nonstick for this. Stainless steel works best, because then you can more easily see when the sugar turns that perfect shade of amber. A dark pan makes it easier to accidentally over or undershoot.

Don’t stir the sugar at first

You need to give the sugars a chance to begin the caramelization process. It goes much better if they do that undisturbed at first. Then, stir away once the recipe says to.

Go by smell and look, not time

It’s tempting to just set a timer and forget about it. But you really need to watch for a rich amber color and a nutty, slightly toasty aroma. The degree of caramelization will not affect the texture so much as the flavor. The moment you add the cream mixture, the caramelization process will halt, so make sure it’s a smell and hue that looks appetizing to you.

Do not touch or taste the caramel! And be careful!

It is like a billion degrees and will give you horrible burns. Be extremely careful. Do not make caramel with exposed skin. Do not make caramel with small children or pets around. Be cautious when adding the liquid in the recipe. Just be super cautious because this stuff can be dangerous, and don’t make this recipe if you have any concerns. Be cautious and read a bit more about fire safety and caramel-making safety before trying it.

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