How to stop caramel from crystalising?

[yaela123]

I'm trying to make a caramel sauce for a cake but it keeps crystalising. I've had 2 attempts and both have bloody crystalised! It's so frustrating!!!

I have made it before fine but I don't know what I'm doing wrong. FFS!

Can anyone help? If it doesn't work this third time I'm going to give up.

I use one I found online, works beautifully, let me find it one sec

www.averiecooks.com/2014/06/the-best-and-easiest-homemade-salted-caramel-sauce.html

Obviously leave out the salt if you just want caramel sauce.

Don't stir it? I'm not sure if this is true but I never stir, just shoogle the pan about and it works fine.

Don't stir just swirl in the pan.

I stir until the sugar is completely melted, then leave to boil.

I squeeze a small bit of lemon juice at the start, into the sugar and this prevents crystallisation. You can stir to your heart's content. I do this when making salted caramel. Hope this helps.

Don't stir it. Don't even swirl the pan.

The key is patience so just leave it alone.

Honestly I made caramel for the first time a few weeks ago and my mum advised no matter what don't touch it. I will admit it was difficult not to stir it or even touch the pan and I thought it would never go from sugar water to caramel but it suddenly did. It was glossy and smooth so my mum was right

i use the recipe in this chocolate caramel tart for all sort of caramel things....it's never failed.

Main tips are never stir until the sugar has all melted and you are adding the cream and never use a non stick pan....it does something weird to the caramel.

if you want to be daring and wing it, then I use enough caster sugar to give a good covering in the heaviest widest pan you have, set over a med high heat and wait.
do not add water to the pan.

while you are waiting set a soaking wet tea towel on the draining board

only shimmy the pan as it heats, and once the sugar starts to turn colour keep it moving...try NOT to get globs of un melted sugar in lumps in the caramel...you want it all to melt down in order iyswim...any globs of "dry" sugar enveloped in melted sugar will take longer to melt, increasing the risk of burning the caramel

Keep it moving until it is golden caramel and then once you are happy with the colour you have to do three things at once
get the pan on the wet cloth to STOP the caramel cooking any further
hurl in as much double cream as you have caramel
stir like mad

there will be wild steam from the wet tea towel
furious bubbling from the cream

but hold your nerve keep stirring and in the event of any caramel lumps return the pan to a low heat and keep stirring until they are dissolved.
you can add in a little butter at this point if you like.

Thanks everyone! After posting I realised I had run out of sugar and couldn't be bothered to go to the shops so I just gave up but I'll definitely try these tips next time.