The Fattiest Fat Bomb
Welcome to KetoCook! I have been developing ketogenic recipes like this amazing keto caramel or dulce de leche, since 2010 for my daughter who successfully manages Dravet’s Syndrome (epilepsy) with the ketogenic diet. You will find most of the recipes on this site make 1 serving. This is because her version of the ketogenic diet is so strict, nutritional requirements are met to the gram using a software program called the KetoDietCalculator. You can find many more recent keto recipes I have developed at the Charlie Foundation.
What makes this recipe different from other “keto” caramel recipes?
Well, this recipe is not based on large quantities of low carb sweetener, in fact you don’t need to use any sweetener at all! Most other “keto” caramel recipes rely on granular sweeteners that contain sugar alcohols, fibers, and fillers. On a medical ketogenic diet, even small quantities of these sweeteners, even erythritol, can be problematic for some individuals. Companies claim that 100% of sugar alcohol or fiber can be subtracted to equal zero net carbs, but it is possible that some of it is still utilized by the body as a carbohydrate, therefore raising blood glucose and lowering ketones. They best way to know is to test on yourself and learn how your body responds to different types of sweeteners. In our case, I still choose to avoid using extra sweeteners and apply this conservative approach to all of my cooking. As a side note, when my daughter began keto therapy in 2009, we were advised to use Saccharin 🙈🙉🙈, and I never felt great about it’s on and off again relationship with the “possible human carcinogen” category. I can’t help having the same suspicions with other non-nutritive sweeteners.
The Recipe
Ketogenic & caramel are not usually two words that go together…EVER! And caramel as a method of serving fat, not sugar? I’m not kidding! This is an amazing replacement for traditional caramel, with the added benefit of it containing essentially ZERO carbohydrate or protein, it is almost 100% fat. If you are looking for the best tasting keto caramel or fat bomb ever, this is it!
Interestingly, this recipe is more similar to dulce de leche than caramel. Traditional caramel is made by melting sugar, while dulce de leche is made by cooking down and caramelizing the portions in milk or other dairy. This recipe is more similar to the latter but with butter added to increase the fat content and keep the protein and carb count low.
This is a “make it and eat it” kind of recipe. It will sit ok at room temperature for a few hours, but will eventually break and separate. If you store it in the fridge, it will harden like butter. You can make candies in silicone molds this way if you wish. You will not be able to re-heat it and return it to a sauce like state after it has hardened. So plan ahead and be ready to cook this on the day you wish to serve it. This would be wonderful drizzled on top of a pumpkin pie or apple crisp…. Hope you enjoy!
Video Instructions Click HERE
Macros for the entire batch (using 40 gram equal parts heavy cream & butter)
- Fat: 49 grams
- Protein: 1 gram
- Net Carbs: 1 gram
- Calories: 447
- Ketogenic Ratio: 21:1
Keto Caramel or Dulce de Leche Printable Recipe
Keto Caramel
Ingredients
- 1 part Unsalted Butter See note below
- 1 part Heavy Cream
- 1 pinch Salt
- Sweetener of Choice
Instructions
- Melt the butter in the pan over LOW heat. The butter will boil and foam. Listen carefully, you will hear the butter boiling. Once the moisture has boiled off, the pan will be very quiet. Once quiet, the carmelization will happen very quickly.
- Continue cooking the butter until the milk solids begin to turn golden brown. It is best to not rush this process because once it starts to turn brown it can quickly go too far and taste burnt.
- Once the milk solids have browned, remove the pan from the heat and stir the cream into the butter. If you are using sweetener, add it along with the cream. The cream will foam and bubble initially but will then stop. Return the pan to medium heat and allow the cream to come to a full boil. The cream and the butter may look separated, but keep stirring! A whisk works well.
- Continue cooking until it has thickened and feels “sticky” (The bubbles will take longer to come to the surface).
- Remove the caramel from the heat, continue to stir until it begins to cool. If you let it sit while it is hot, the butter and cream may separate. Continue to stir it for a few minutes and it will hold together as a thick sauce. You can pour it into candy molds at this point if you wish.
- Enjoy the caramel served warm with your favorite keto dessert! If you cool this in the refigerator, the caramel will become solid and makes great fat bombs.
Notes
- 114 grams (1 stick) butter + 114 grams heavy cream OR
- 1 cup butter + 1 cup heavy cream
Snack Example – 4:1 Ratio
This is a method that you can incorporate into any meal where you would like to serve caramel. When you are calculating a meal, include butter and cream as your fat. For example, I calculated a 4:1 ratio, 146 calorie snack of apples (no skin), butter and cream.
- 12g butter
- 12g 40% heavy cream
- 25.5g apples with no skin
Follow the process above for cooking the caramel. It will go MUCH FASTER with a small amount like this. The caramel will weigh significantly less than 24 grams (12g butter + 12g cream) after cooking. This is because water content has cooked out of both the butter and cream.
