Place sugar and cream into a small pot and whisk together well.
Cook over medium heat until you get a slow rolling boil, whisking the whole time. If you don’t whisk, the sugar will burn and stick to the pot.
Allow to boil, while whisking, for about 5-10 minutes until you see it thicken. If you want a caramel that will thicken and harden better, add the cornstarch about half way through and whisk for about 2-4 minutes until you see it thicken more.
Test thickness by taking some out with a small spoon and cooling it. You can also drizzle some on a cold plate (cool it in the freezer) and if it hardens then it’s ready. It will thicken more as it cools. If you want this thick caramel that will firm up a bit then you really want to reduce it for about 10 minutes and check with the spoon method. You can also use a candy thermometer and make sure it gets to 225 degrees for a thick result that will firm up better. If you want it more of a runnier sauce, then cook for around 5 minutes.
When done, remove from heat and mix in the vanilla and salt.
Allow to cool and use as needed!
No cook:
Combine everything in a bowl and whisk well until smooth and sticky.
Serve as needed!
Notes
Coconut cream is the top layer from a can of full fat coconut milk, stored in refrigerator for 2-3 days or freezer for 2-3 hours. You need about 1 can of full fat coconut milk to get ½ cup coconut cream. Some brands also sell the cream alone (like Thai Kitchen).
This keeps great in the fridge for about a week. You can heat it in the microwave before you use it if you want it a little runnier.
The stove top version is better when you want a super thick sticky caramel that will firm up a bit. The no cook version is best as a sauce and when you don’t want it to firm up much as it doesn’t get harder in the fridge.
If you need it to be thick and harden when cool then you can also add the cornstarch for an extra thickening boost.
The stove top version makes 1 cup reduced and ¾ cup really reduced. The no cook version makes 1 cup. Serving size is 2 tablespoons.
The nutrition label is for the stovetop version. The nutrition info for the no cook version is as follows: Calories- 179 g Carbohydrates- 23 g Protein- 3 g Fat- 9 g Sodium- 69 g Fiber 2 g Sugar 19g