This Guinness Coffee Salted Caramel Sauce is what you’ve been missing all your life! It doesn’t taste like beer at all. It’s a caramel sauce that is rich in flavors of coffee, vanilla and chocolate – thanks to the wonderful Guinness. Drizzle it on top of Classic Brownies or go all in and serve it with my Super Fudgy Coffee Guinness Caramel Brownies!
This rich caramel sauce will quickly transform any dessert into a perfect St. Patrick’s Day dessert or an otherwise kid friendly dessert becomes more interesting for the grown-ups too (just serve delicious regular salted caramel to the kids!). Continue to read and I will provide you with tons of ideas on how to use this liquid adulty goodness.
How to reduce Guinness to get the best flavor
Reducing the Guinness is good for two things; 1. you get all the flavor from a bottle of Guinness into just half the amount of liquid, and 2. you reduce the amount of alcohol down to 2.8% instead of 8%. This isn’t a boozy coffee caramel sauce, the Guinness is only there to provide flavor.
To read more about alcohol reduction you can find more about it in my Coffee Guinness Caramel Brownies post and here’s some additional information as well.
How to reduce liquid? Simply pour a bottle of Guinness Extra Stout (or Special Export) into a large saucepan. You need a larger saucepan than you think you’ll need, because the Guinness tend to erupt like a volcano (or regular Salted Caramel Sauce when you mix in the heavy cream).
Let this mixture boil on medium for 30 minutes or until 1 11 oz. bottle is reduced down to 1/2 cup – or if you want to make Guinness Brownies too – 2 11 oz. bottles reduced to 1 cup. This method isn’t just for alcohol. It is exactly what I do with mulled apple cider in these apple cider donuts as well.
What to serve with Rich Guinness Coffee Salted Caramel Sauce?
Guinness coffee salted caramel sauce works with everything that regular salted caramel sauce work with. It’s a rich sauce, that I think is more adult friendly rather than for kids, obviously. If the kids devour some kid friendly chocolate cake, it will be perfect for mamas and papas to get that extra punch of coffee on their plates, right!
This will work literally with anything containing chocolate. My favorites include:
- on top of chocolate crinkle cookies
- in a cup of warming hot chocolate
- exchange regular salted caramel sauce with this in salted caramel macarons
- same in this apple pie cake
- on chocolate or vanilla ice cream
- or exchange the peppermint and sugar with this sauce in a peppermint mocha!
- drizzle on chocolate lava cake
- sneak a little on top of your chocolate overnight oats (I won’t tell)
- fill these peppermint dark chocolates with coffee salted caramel sauce instead
- add in a buttercream frosting
- and use that buttercream frosting on these chocolate coffee cupcakes or carrot cake cupcakes!
- fill these lemon meringue cupcakes with caramel sauce instead of lemon curd (totally doing that for my no-lemon-dessert man this weekend)
- drizzle on top of this healthy pumpkin soufflé, isn’t it all about the balance?
- I’d also love to dip these apple cider donuts in coffee caramel sauce, mmmm.
And of course there’s the classic dark chocolate brownies and Coffee Guinness Caramel Brownies! See – there are TONS of ways to use up this recipe, so there’s really no reason to not make it.
How to make Rich Guinness Coffee Caramel Sauce
After you have reduced the Guinness, you’re ready to begin making the sauce. In a clean, large and light colored pan, carefully pour in the Guinness, sugar and instant coffee granules. On medium high heat, again carefully, stir this mixture until the sugar has dissolved.
STOP STIRRING before the mixture boils, or else the sugar may crystallize. Let the mixture boil for about 5 minutes, or just when it starts to smell a tiny bit burned (adds more richness to the flavor). Remove from heat, and while you are constantly stirring, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Then add butter, 1 tbsp at a time, still constantly stirring. Lastly, stir in salt and vanilla extract.
Pour into heat proof containers. It will thicken once it cools. Store covered in the fridge. It will be quite hard in the fridge, so let it come to room temperature before pouring over Super Fudgy Guinness Brownies!
Did you like this recipe? I think you’ll like these too:
- Delicious 10 Minute Salted Caramel Sauce
- Salted Caramel Macarons
- Simple Caramel Apple Pie Cake
- Apple Caramel Latte Macchiato
- Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Irish Baileys Frosting
- Classic Irish Coffee
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Rich Guinness Coffee Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 11 oz Guinness Extra Stout (or Special Export), reduced to 1/2 cup 33cl * read notes!
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
- 2 tsp instant coffee granules or 1 tsp espresso powder
- 2/3 cup heavy cream 160ml
- 3 tbsp butter in 1 tbsp sized pieces
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Reduce Guinness: Pour one (or two, read notes*) 11-12 oz bottle into a large saucepan. It can bubble quite a bit. On medium, let this mixture simmer/boil for 30 minutes or until one bottle is 1/2 cup or two bottles are 1 cup of reduced Guinness.
- In a clean, large and light colored pan: carefully pour in the Guinness, sugar and instant coffee granules. On medium high heat, again carefully, stir this mixture until the sugar has dissolved.
- STOP STIRRING before the mixture boils, or else the sugar may crystallize. Let the mixture boil for about 5 minutes, or just when it starts to smell a tiny bit burned (adds more richness to the flavor).
- Remove from heat, and while you are constantly stirring, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Then add butter, 1 tbsp at a time, still constantly stirring. Lastly, stir in salt and vanilla extract.
- Pour into heat proof containers. It will thicken once it cools. Store covered in the fridge. It will be quite hard in the fridge, so let it come to room temperature before pouring over Super Fudgy Guinness Brownies!
Notes
Wow, this Guinness coffee salted caramel sauce sounds terrific, ~I really love the idea of combining coffee and Guinness. I cannot wait to try it. Thanks for the inspiration and for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Thank you very much, I hope you’ll like it!
Coffee and beer… you got my attention 🙂 I like dark chocolate and assume this sauce will also taste slightly bitter, going to try this one with one of my desserts.
It is slightly bitter, maybe not kid friendly but it’s definitely adult friendly! Enjoy!
I have to make this caramel sauce. Every year I make a Guinness Stout Chocolate Cake (which doesn’t taste like beer either) and this sauce would just be so good drizzled on top.
It’s amazing how Guinness in baking doesn’t taste like beer at all. It sounds delicious.
oh just in time for St Patrick’s Day – isn’t it amazing how Guinness works in recipes? I love it in savoury beef casseroles, but this sounds divine
Thank you so much! Yes, it is so amazing. I have yet to try it with beef, but it’s on my ever growing to do list!