Makes 300ml
80ml water
1½ teaspoons salt
200g caster sugar
Place the water and salt in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir to dissolve the salt. Just leave to one side to keep warm.
Place the sugar in another saucepan over a high heat and make a dry caramel. By this I mean do not add any water, just melt the sugar in the pan. Once it boils, do not stir. When it is a nice amber colour, carefully stir in the warm salted water. The water has to be warm, otherwise it will ‘shock’ the sugar too much – if this happens, the sauce will explode and be very dangerous!
Pour the caramel into a bowl and leave to cool to room temperature to serve.
Tom’s Tip
This can be made up to a month in advance and kept in a covered container in the fridge. Just remember to bring it back to room temperature before serving. You can reheat it very slightly, if you need to.