Simon Hulstone varies the method above by adding double cream instead of water in step 3 to form a salted butter caramel. . If you are adding cream, you could try infusing it first with vanilla as Josh Eggleton instructs in his Caramel panna cotta recipe. Make sure to warm the cream before adding to the hot sugar.

Alcohol can also be used to add to the caramel. Phil Howard adds Madeira to his caramel, while Marcus Wareing suggests using rum – just make sure that the alcohol boils off.

Caramel is used in many classic desserts such as Salted caramel tart, Butterscotch sauce, Panna cotta and many more.