Dreamy Bittersweet Chocolate Salted Caramel Sauce

There’s something magical about this Bittersweet Chocolate Salted Caramel Sauce and, surprisingly, it’s not just the chocolate and it’s not just the caramel.

Bittersweet Chocolate. Burnt Sugar. Cream. Salt. Creamy, dreamy, chewy, gooey chocolate caramel sauce. Does it get better than that?

Well, yes, as a matter of fact, it does.

A tasting of several new-to-me cocoa powders last week for The Wonderful World of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder challenged me to name the floral and fruity notes in some of the cocoas. Then I started wondering how I might reproduce and amplify those flavors in chocolate sauce.

Right on cue, I found myself in Trader Joe’s staring at packages of unsweetened, unsulphured, freeze-dried strawberries and raspberries. Bingo.

You know what happened next, right?

This divine sauce is thick but pourable when hot and firm and caramel-chewy when cold. The chewy texture makes it especially addictive. You might find yourself eating a cup of it with a spoon while you’re writing a blog post, for instance. Just sayin’.

Bittersweet Chocolate Salted Caramel Sauce (with a Little Bit of Magic)

There’s something magical about this chocolate sauce and, surprisingly, it’s not just the burnt sugar. It’s the perceptible fruitiness lent the sauce by freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries. The sauce is excellent–with the bittersweet chocolate and almost burnt caramel in perfect flavor balance–even without the freeze-dried fruit. But do try to find the fruit, because that extra hit of fruity acidity really makes this sauce pop.

½ cup sugar
¾ cup heavy cream
½ cup freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries, processed to a powder
3-3½ ounces fine-quality 70% cacao bar chocolate, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Ingredient Note   Freeze-dried strawberries and raspberries are available at Trader Joes.

1. In a 2-cup glass measuring cup or bowl, add the cream and powdered strawberries, and stir to combine. Microwave for 1 minute. Reserve.
2. In a dry, heavy skillet (preferably light in color on the interior), cook the sugar over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Swirl the pan, redistributing the sugar with a small silicon spatula, until sugar is completely melted and a deep golden caramel. Don’t go too dark, or the sauce will taste bitter.
3. Remove from the heat, let cool for 1 minute only, and then carefully (stand back) pour the hot cream through a fine sieve into the caramel. The mixture may sputter and foam, but the pan should be large enough to contain it. Stir with a silicon spatula to incorporate the cream mixture and dissolve any hard bits of caramel.
4. Add the chocolate, and cook sauce over low heat, whisking, until chocolate melts and the sauce is smooth.
5. Stir in vanilla and salt.
6. Pour into a small bowl, and let cool to room temperature.
7. Refrigerate to store. Eat it cold with a spoon, or reheat to pour.

Makes about 1¼ cups.

More Dessert Sauces from LunaCafe

• Blackberry Lime Syrup with Star Anise | LunaCafe
• Burnt Caramel Sauce | LunaCafe
• Caramel Walnut Sauce | LunaCafe
• Fresh Blueberry Lime Sauce | LunaCafe
• Fresh Strawberry-Tomato Dessert Sauce | LunaCafe
• Peanut Butter Caramel | LunaCafe
• Quintessential Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce with 10 Luscious Variations | LunaCafe
• Rhubarb Rose Petal Caramel Syrup + 4 Variations | LunaCafe
• Spiced Apple Cider Caramel Sauce | LunaCafe
• Spiced Caramel Apple Sauce | LunaCafe
• Strawberry Lime Sauce | LunaCafe

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