If you’re looking for a dessert sauce that truly stands out, this Candy Cap Caramel Sauce is your answer. Made with the unique, maple-scented aroma of candy cap mushrooms, it turns a classic caramel into something wild and completely unforgettable.
This is one of my favorite candy cap recipes because it’s so versatile. Spoon it over ice cream, drizzle it on cakes, spread it between cake layers, or fold it into buttercream.
Recipe highlights
- Smooth, silky, salty-and-sweet caramel sauce
- Natural maple flavor from candy cap mushrooms
- A fun way to surprise guests with a sneaky secret ingredient
- Easy to make in under 10 minutes
- Versatile — use it as a sauce, drizzle, or component for cakes and tarts
- A great gateway into cooking with foraged ingredients like candy cap mushrooms
Recipe overview
⏱️ Prep: Make candy cap sugar first • Cook: ~10 min
🍴 Yield: About 1 cup of sauce
💪 Skill level: Intermediate. Caramel can be tricky, but it’s worth it!
😋 Flavor profile: Earthy yet sweet with notes of toffee & maple. Pairs well with: brown butter, toasted nuts, chocolate, bourbon, and warm spices.
Pre.S: Because you ended up here, you’re probably already familiar with candy cap mushrooms. But just in case you’re wondering what they are, they’re little edible mushrooms with a very special flavor. Dried candy caps develop a strong maple-syrup scent — one of the few mushrooms used mainly for sweet applications. How cool is that?!
How to make candy cap caramel sauce
👉 Make your own candy cap sugar first! Head over to my candy cap sugar recipe for instructions.
Find the full ingredients list and detailed recipe instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview of how to make this recipe:
- Hydrate the sugar: Place your candy cap sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with just enough water to moisten it.
- Cook the sugar: Heat without stirring until it turns a deep amber color.
- Add cream carefully: Remove from heat and slowly whisk in heavy cream. Expect bubbling and steam — go slow and be careful!
- Finish with butter & salt: Stir in unsalted butter until smooth, then add sea salt to taste. Let cool before using.
Sourcing & foraging candy cap mushrooms
Foraging for candy caps
Candy caps grow in certain areas of the Pacific Northwest and only a few other temperate forest regions. They’re small mushrooms with rusty brown caps and an undeniable maple-y aroma. They can be a bit difficult to distinguish from other little brown mushrooms, including at least one poisonous look-alike, the deadly galerina.
When harvesting, look for these distinguishing factors:
- A distinct sweet odor that intensifies when dried (or when briefly singed)
- Brittle stems that break cleanly when fresh
- A milky latex that oozes out when broken
If you forage candy caps yourself, be sure to dry them well. Drying intensifies the aroma and makes them ideal for dessert recipes. A food dehydrator is the best tool for this, but a low oven (no higher than 180° F) also works.
Foraging for wild edibles must always be done with great care. The information on this blog is provided for educational and inspirational purposes only. It is your responsibility to properly identify any wild plants or mushrooms before consuming them. Some wild species are toxic or may closely resemble edible ones. If you are uncertain about any plant or mushroom, do not eat it. Always consult a trusted field guide, local expert, or professional forager before consuming wild foods and only pick mushrooms you can identify with confidence.
Purchasing candy caps
If foraging isn’t an option, you can purchase dried candy cap mushrooms online. I often use West Coast Wild Foods.
Pro tips for perfect caramel
- Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan. This will ensure your sauce cooks evenly.
- Don’t stir at first. Leave the sauce alone until it starts to turn an amber color. Too much stirring can cause the sugar to crystallize.
- Slowly whisk in cream. When you add cream, the sugar will bubble aggressively and create steam; take care not to burn yourself!
- Don’t skip the salt. It heightens and balances the final flavor.
- Cool before using. Caramel sauce thickens as it cools. Warm it gently if it becomes too thick to pour.
My favorite caramel trick
adding a little squeeze of lemon juice to the sugar-water mixture before cooking can help prevent the caramel from crystallizing!
Serving ideas
- Drizzle over mini chocolate cakes
- Spoon on top of ice cream
- Spread between cake layers
- Fold into frosting to make caramel buttercream
- Whisk into whipped cream and dollop on desserts (like this Pecan Galette)
- Serve with candy cap cookies for a full-on mushroom dessert
- Pour over panna cotta or a simple loaf cake for an easy upgrade
- Pair with Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake, Sourdough Pumpkin Bread, or Brown Butter Pear Clafoutis
How to store candy cap caramel
Store candy cap caramel sauce in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to a month. Warm gently before use for a pourable sauce.
To warm it up, place the jar in a pot with an inch or two of water in it. Turn the heat to low and warm it up very slowly, stirring the caramel with a spoon from time to time. Or, pour sauce into a heavy saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring frequently.
For more candy cap dessert recipes, see my posts on Candy Cap Sugar, Mini Chocolate Caramel Cakes, and Candy Cap Shortbread Cookies.
Did you make this Candy Cap Caramel Sauce? Please leave a star rating and comment below. It helps other readers and makes me infinitely happy. Thank you!
Candy Cap Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup candy cap sugar
- water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon high-quality sea salt
Instructions
- Place candy cap sugar in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add just enough water to hydrate the sugar (about 1/4 cup). Stir to hydrate the sugar evenly. Tip: adding a little squeeze of lemon juice can help prevent the caramel from crystallizing!
- Cook sugar, without stirring, until it starts to develop a golden color.
- Start whisking, and turn off heat when mixture has an even amber color. It should be about the color you'd expect for your final caramel sauce.
- Slowly and carefully add cream while whisking. Be careful – there will be some bubbling and hot steam at first.
- Remove from stove and whisk in butter until completely dissolved. Whisk in salt.
- Allow sauce to cool before using.
Notes
Did you try this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment below!
