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Basque Cider Salted Caramel Sauce

By Nicole Konstantinakos

Published on October 17, 2022

Time

55 minutes

Yield

Serves 8 to 12 (Makes about 1 cup)

Basque Cider Salted Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

1 (750-ml) bottle Basque hard cider 1⅔ cups (11⅔ ounces) sugar ¾ cup heavy cream ¼ teaspoon table salt

Before You Begin

If you can't find Basque cider (also known as sagardoa), substitute another dry hard cider. You can reheat the sauce either in a microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking often, until the sauce is warm and smooth.

Instructions

  1. Bring cider and sugar to boil in large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook without stirring until mixture is syrupy and full of large bubbles and registers about 250 degrees, 25 to 35 minutes.
  2. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, swirling saucepan occasionally, until mixture is deep amber–colored and registers 320 to 330 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes longer. (Watch caramel closely during final minutes of cooking since temperature can increase quickly.)
  3. Off heat, carefully whisk in cream and salt (mixture will bubble and steam). Continue to whisk until sauce is smooth. Let sauce cool slightly before serving, about 15 minutes. (Sauce will thicken as it cools. Cooled sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks; reheat before serving.)
Basque Cider Salted Caramel Sauce
Photography by Joseph Keller. Styling by Ashley Moore.

Basque Cider Salted Caramel Sauce

Save

Time

55 minutes

Yield

Serves 8 to 12 (Makes about 1 cup)

Ingredients

1 (750-ml) bottle Basque hard cider
1⅔ cups (11⅔ ounces) sugar
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon table salt

Ingredients

1 (750-ml) bottle Basque hard cider
1⅔ cups (11⅔ ounces) sugar
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon table salt

Ingredients

1 (750-ml) bottle Basque hard cider
1⅔ cups (11⅔ ounces) sugar
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon table salt

Why This Recipe Works

At first glance, this may look like a simple, familiar caramel sauce, but it isn't. An unexpected ingredient, Basque cider (known as sagardoa), gave this sauce bright, tangy, slightly funky notes and undefinable complexity. We were inspired by a sauce made by Chef Ana Rodríguez at La Cuchara de San Telmo in the city of Donostia-San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain. We love it drizzled over a hefty slice of our La Viña–Style Cheesecake.

Before You Begin

If you can't find Basque cider (also known as sagardoa), substitute another dry hard cider. You can reheat the sauce either in a microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking often, until the sauce is warm and smooth.

Instructions

  1. Bring cider and sugar to boil in large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook without stirring until mixture is syrupy and full of large bubbles and registers about 250 degrees, 25 to 35 minutes.
  2. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, swirling saucepan occasionally, until mixture is deep amber–colored and registers 320 to 330 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes longer. (Watch caramel closely during final minutes of cooking since temperature can increase quickly.)
  3. Off heat, carefully whisk in cream and salt (mixture will bubble and steam). Continue to whisk until sauce is smooth. Let sauce cool slightly before serving, about 15 minutes. (Sauce will thicken as it cools. Cooled sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks; reheat before serving.)

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