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I want to make a caramel coating for cheesecake, or other cakes, that stays fluid in the fridge, and doesn't become hard/solid.

I don't mind if the caramel sauce/syrup contains any butter/milk or not; if it's only made by sugar and water is OK.
I made a caramel sauce, which was fluid for some time, but when I coated the cheesecake and put in the fridge, it became solid and I just sticked this out and threw it away.

If you have a recipe for this I would be glad to hear about, just as long as it is caramelized sugar, not clear syrup (slightly heated water plus sugar).

apaderno
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Nick
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  • How "fluid" do you want it to be? Can you give some examples of the desired viscosity? Maple syrup-like? Melted chocolate? Molasses? Peanut butter? – ESultanik Jul 25 '11 at 12:26
  • Usually caramel sauce is made by adding cream and/or butter to you caramel. Or you going for the type of caramel sauce you see to top sundaes or dip apples in at the supermarket or something else. – jeffwllms Jul 25 '11 at 14:05
  • Actually, lthe fluidity must similar to clear syrup, or golden syrup, honey, etc... A thin glaze to top the cheesecake. I added butter/cream but still becomes very hard when refrigerated – Nick Jul 25 '11 at 16:02

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If you make caramel acidic, it won't harden. So use cream of tartar (neutral taste) or lemon juice (easier availability) to create a non-hardening sticky caramel fluid.

I am not sure if you can add dairy (milk, cream, butter, etc). to acidified caramel, but there is a small chance that it will curdle, so I'd advice you to use clear caramel (browned sugar and water only).

I don't know how much acid you need to keep caramel at a certain viscosity at a given temperature, you'll have to experiment for that. Or maybe somebody else can supply this information. IIRC, a good starting point is a tablespoon of lemon juice per 100g sugar, but this is very imprecise.

The other option would be to make a semifluid sauce (cream, or starch-thickened milk, or diluted syrup) and add caramel to it, but the taste would be much weaker. My preference would be the clear caramel + acid route.

rumtscho
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  • thanks for the answer. for the first option it is not possible, I added enough lemon juice, bit since the sugar is a solid, when it cools it becomes a solid again. Needs to be diluted, but how? (since adding wated will evaporate...) The second option seems possible, maybe addind caramel to clar syrup can do the trick with some experiments... I want to give you a vote for this, but the system says I have to be registered for this, and I posted as a guest.... Sorry about this – Nick Jul 25 '11 at 13:42
  • I might try it tonight, if I have enough time. But 1. caramel is not sugar, and 2. sugar + acid is not sugar. There are chemical changes which can lead to a product which is fluid when cooled (I don't remember what concentration you need for fridge cool). As for dilution, you just add more than the amount that would evaporate. – rumtscho Jul 25 '11 at 13:48
  • Corn Syrup will stop the sugar from crystallizing also(same as adding an acid). Not sure exactly that this will keep it as fluid as you are looking for. – jeffwllms Jul 25 '11 at 14:05
  • @Taste Five sugar syrup crystallizes because it is supersaturated at low temperatures (the solubility of sugar in water is higher when the water is warm). Adding acid to the syrup will split the sugar into fructose and glucose, which have greater solubility, and corn syrup is already a mixture of fructose and glucose. But the reason caramel goes solid is a phase change, it is independent from solubility matters here. – rumtscho Jul 25 '11 at 15:39
  • @rumtscho: Is that possible to add a lot of water, as you say? I have heard that adding a lot of water may 1) crystallize the caramel, 2) Make it bitter Also, regarding your saying that adding an acid will change it into fluid, I don't think it's possible without water. For example, clear syrup is around 1:1 water/sugar, and then boiled and removed from fire (but without caramelizing). So definately, needs a liquid – Nick Jul 25 '11 at 16:05
  • @rumtscho, Yes adding acid will work as you described. But adding corn syrup(all glucose), will also stop crystallization by upsetting the balance of fructose and glucose. And I agree the question has nothing to do with crystallization. But that was why I made my comment. Adding an acid is really only effecting crystallization it really wont help in keeping it fluid necessarily. However corn syrup will soften the texture of the caramel as well. It is a fairly neutral sweeter and wont change the flavor of what he is looking for to much as well. – jeffwllms Jul 25 '11 at 17:26
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I just made caramel sauce for the first time with very simple ingredients: water, sugar, cream and vanilla this recipe. The recipe asked for heavy whipping cream and I used half and half instead because it was all I had. My sauce turned out very very thin, but still rich with flavor. It has been in the fridge for a day and still flows like liquid.

Aria Phillips
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