Caramel Sauce 

Makes about 1 cup

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of fleur de sel or best available salt

Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan (ideally a tall 1 1⁄2-quart pan). Cook over medium heat, without stirring, until the sugar melts and turns golden brown, about 5 minutes. (Keep a watchful eye on the sugar because it can burn quickly.)

Immediately remove from the heat and whisk in the cream, vanilla, and fleur de sel until smooth. (Note: When adding and stirring the cream, wear an oven mitt on your stirring hand. The heat of the sugar will create a tremendous amount of scalding steam when it comes into contact with the cream.) At this point, the sauce will be very thin. After it cools, it will thicken to the consistency of, well, caramel sauce. 

This will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week