Nut-Free Crust Alternative
If you or someone else would love to try these caramel slices but are allergic to nuts try making the crust with our homemade coconut flour pie crust instead.
How to make keto caramel
The sugar-free caramel should be made while the crust is cooking in the oven.
To make the caramel, you will want to melt your butter and preferred brown sugar-free sweetener together on high heat in a skillet.
Once the brown sweetener is completely dissolved, slowly pour your heavy cream into the caramel while continuously stirring. The caramel will bubble up while you are pouring in the cream but will settle down as your stir.
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Continue to gently stir your caramel on high heat until it thickens and slides off your utensil, about 15-20 minutes. Once the caramel has thickened, remove the caramel from the heat.
Mix in the vanilla and a pinch of salt before letting the caramel cool for about 10 minutes.
After the caramel has cooled, pour it over your crust, and spread it out with the back of a spoon.
Next, place the whole baking pan in the refrigerator to allow your caramel to chill for at least 10 minutes.
How to make the keto melted chocolate
After your creamy keto caramel has chilled, you will make the keto chocolate topping. Before you begin, the caramel needs to be firm enough that you can spread the melted chocolate on top,
To make the chocolate topping, add your dark sugar-free chocolate chips and coconut oil to a microwave-safe bowl or cup and melt in the microwave.
You will want to melt the chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring in-between, until the chocolate is smooth. My microwave melted the chocolate perfectly in 1 minute.
If you do not have a microwave you can melt the chocolate in a saucepan on the stove over low heat or use a double boiler. Once the sugar-free chocolate is melted, pour the chocolate over the caramel and spread it out gently.
Your caramel slices will need to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before they are ready to cut.
How to store caramel
To cut the caramel slices, use the parchment paper, and lift your keto dessert out of the pan. Then cut the caramels into 16 squares. Next, cut each square in half to make 32 rectangular pieces.
To easily cut the slices, run your knife under hot water to heat it. This will make the knife slide through the chocolate and caramel without sticking.
The caramel slices squares be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 7-14 days.
These sugar-free caramel slices are perfect if you are looking for a small treat to grab to satisfy your sweet tooth craving.
The caramel slices can also be individually wrapped in parchment paper then arranged in a container to give as a lovely homemade gift for birthdays or holidays.
Update: We created a new sugar-free keto caramel sauce that you can drizzle on top too!
More keto candy recipes
- Keto peanut butter fudge (3 ingredients)
- Sugar-free gummies (no maltitol)
- Salted peanut butter cups
- Sugar-free keto marshmallows
Keto Caramel Slice Recipe
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Frying pan
Ingredients
Almond Flour Base
- 150 g almond meal/flour
- 55 g butter
- 4 tbsp granulated sweetener of choice or more to your taste
- +/- salt and pepper
Keto Caramel
- 250 ml heavy whipping cream
- 250 g butter
- 35 g brown sweetener of choice or more to your taste
- +/- salt and pepper
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate
- 200 g 90% dark chocolate or sugar-free chocolate chips
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
Almond Flour Crust
- Preheat your oven to 180C/350F and line a square baking pan with parchment paper. Combine all the ingredients for the crust in a bowl.
- Spread the almond meal/flour mixture around the bottom of your baking dish. Use the palm of your hand to firmly press the crust flat into the pan. Bake the crust 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Keto Caramel
- In a skillet melt together the butter and brown sweetener. Continuously stir the butter and sweetener until all the sweetener is completely melted.
- Slowly pour the heavy cream into the melted butter and sweetener while still stirring. The caramel will bubble for a bit while the cream is being poured in. Continue to stir the caramel on medium heat until it thickens and slides off your utensil, about 15-20 minutes.
- Do not step away for a second, you need to stir the caramel continuously so the sugar-free caramel thickens, but does not burn.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and mix in the vanilla and salt. Let the caramel cool 5-10 minutes before pouring over your almond flour crust and spreading the caramel out. Place your baking pan in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes to allow the caramel to harden.
- TOP TIP: Continue to stir after you remove the caramel from the heat. It will help prevent the butter and caramel from separating. If your caramel does split, continue to stir as the butter cools and the butter begins to solidify again, it will go back to being caramel.
Melted Chocolate
- Add the chocolate chips and coconut oil to a microwave-safe dish. Microwave the chocolate in 30-second increments until the chocolate is completely melted. Be sure to stir the chocolate in between. If you do not have a microwave you can melt the chocolate in a saucepan on low heat.
- Once the chocolate is melted pour it over your caramel and spread out with a spoon. Refrigerate your keto caramel slice for at least an hour to harden. Your caramels can also be placed in the freezer for 20 minutes to speed up the process.
Cutting and Storing
- To cut the caramels lift the caramels from the pan using the edges of the parchment paper. To easily cut the caramels run a knife under hot water and then cut the caramels into 32 pieces. Caramels slices should be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month in an air tight container. Caramels can also be individually wrapped in parchment paper to be given as a gift.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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These look great.What size baking pan do you use?
Hi, I’m rating it 5 stars because I have tried this but I failed the caramel part myself too 😔 I stirred it non-stop but it just wouldn’t thicken nicely and the smell didn’t seem right. I did use thickened cream because we don’t call any cream heavy cream here in Australia, so was I meant to use different cream? What is heavy cream in Australia?
I really want to give it a go again.
Hi Charlotte, I fear the thickened cream may have additional ingredients that inhibited the caramel to thicken AND it may not be a true heavy cream with a high-fat content (which also helps the caramel sauce thicken and solidify). Heavy cream may also be known as double cream or full-fat cream. It should only have one ingredient, cream. One last tip, if your caramel doesn’t thicken, you can still use ut as caramel sauce, not a caramel slice. It would be lovely over low-carb ice cream or a low-carb sundae.
This recipe takes far longer than the publicised times (which are unrealistic) plus no guidance on size of baking tin. Regrettably, I found that if you have your caramel mixture on too high a heat (as recommended) it will split. Disappointed to say the least.
I’m sorry to read this, I have made this many times and it works out brilliantly. I wonder if your cream wasn’t the fresh heavy cream?
So badly want make these…I’m I ready to recipe right I’ll need 2.5 sticks of butter to 1/3c of swerve & 1c cream???
Yes, and be warned, it is delicious!!!!!
Can you please share what brand sugar you used
I have tried 5 or 6 different caramel recipes in the past few months, & I’m not sure if folks are using an electric stove or an inversion hot plate successfully on medium to medium-high heat, but it absolutely does not work for me, with any recipe, on a gas stove. I have to keep the heat as low as it can possibly be turned down, in order for it to be successful~ which is very, very low heat. Another thing that can vary wildly is the type of sweetener, quality of butter & cream, and even the altitude you live at & the humidity in the room while making it. I’ve also had drastically different times & candy thermometer temps with various recipes. What I finally had to do was create my own time/temp/etc & write everything down as you go, so that it can be re-created.
It can be tedious to get it just right, but is well worth the effort if you’re a caramel fan~ I definitely am! All the best to you John~ Samantha Whitson (*Who lives in the desert mountains of AZ =)
Hi there,
I want to make this recipe, but overhere in The Netherland we do not have heavy cream. Our cream is only 35% and heavy cream starts at 36%. Can I use the Dutch fresh cream?
Regards,
Thecla
Yes, that should be fine. you may need to simmer the caramel a little longer and test to see if it will set by placing a small spoon on a cold plate.
Thanks for your fast reply.
Thecla
Hi again,
I tried making the recipe but the caramel got burned and it seems that the brown sweetener was not dissolved. What could I have done wrong??
It got so burned that my fire alarm went of. Could it perhaps be that the gas heat I used fior making the caramel wat to high?
Unfortunately, yes your heat was too high. Cook on medium-high heat to ensure the caramel thickens but does not burn.
Tried it again and it burned again. Seems like the butter is seperatung from the other ingrediënte. Should the heavy cream be cold or on room temperature?
Best regards,
Thecla
It sounds like you have the heat too high and you need to ensure you don’t step away for a second. The sugar-free caramel needs constant slow stirring as any caramel would so to produce the wonderful thick caramel and to prevent burning. It doesn’t matter what temperature your crema is because you heat it on the stove gently.
Thanks again for your answers.
I will try again, I am a perfectionist and I want to get this ;), later today and if it works I will write a review here.
Have a nice weekend.
It’s worth perfecting this recipe, it really is the bomb-diggity!
So in the video it shows 1 stick of butter but recipe calls fo 9 oz that’s 2 and a 1/2 sticks and when I used the recipe it separated and burned
The recipe definitely requires 2 1/2 sticks of butter, the video is clipped to only show the first stick of butter that was added. My apologies.
Sorry for this late review…
But I finally worked. Bought a new skillet and used lower heat. My guests really loved it. 🙂
Awesome Thecia! I have just made this keto caramel slice again over the weekend as some readers have said it turns out brilliantly whilst I have had a couple of reports that it split it didn’t work so I wanted to ensure the instructions were crystal clear. You can see my Instagram post here to see me cooking it.
What size Baking Pan Please??
It is approx 20cmx20cm / 8inchx8inch but I have used smaller and larger. It just makes the caramel slice taller or slimmer.
Hi, I’m not too sure on my sweeteners but I picked up a brown sweetener (says it is a brown sugar alternative) recently and it has a notice on it that it won’t caramelise. It is a blend of stevia and erythritol with a touch of molasses. Will it work for this recipe? Or does it have to be able to caramelise? Many thanks and this looks delicious!
The sweetener doesn’t caramelise as the sugar in a traditional caramel would. It’s the sweetener and the cream and butter that turn those into a decadent creamy caramel sauce.
Made them today 🙂 Fab !
I was so close to this working….but I read about how to keep
Stirring while cooling and it
Totally split 😩. I strained of the clarified butter and smeared the solids in the cookie. My timing was bad..the caramel was done before the crust.
I strained it and saved the clarified butter….do you think I could reuse it? For another batch because the milk solids will come from the cream?????
You need to keep stirring it, even if it splits, as it cools the butter begins to solidify again and bring the whole caramel back together. Unfortunately by deciding to strain the butter off will have ruined the caramel I’m afraid 🙁 I’m not sure why your caramel was ready before the crust. The recipe calls to make the crust first, then as it cools you make the caramel which takes quite some time with all the stirring. Better luck next time, honestly, this creamy smooth caramel is worth it Carrie 🙂
So this is by far one of the best Keto treats I have ever made! The tip to keep stirring the caramel even after it’s done was spot on. I was skeptical at first about the caramel because I have tried several times and it just keeps separating. This recipe, if followed correctly yields a silky smooth golden brown caramel. This is such a scrumptious sweet treat. It reminds me of a Twix in a way. Thank you for consistently sharing your low carb recipes. I have been following you for a few years and have really enjoyed my keto journey thanks to you and a few other Keto/low carb folks. You are a blessing!
Oh, Sade, you are so kind. I’m so happy that you love my keto caramel slice so much and my other low-carb and keto recipes. And thank you for your feedback on this keto caramel recipe. It does take a little bit of stirring, but the results are well worth it. That silky smooth caramel is a wonderful reward.
Delicious! My caramel did seperate because I stopped stirring it. So I reheated it and stirred it as the recipe intended. It came back together. Overall I loved this! Its Keto Millionaires Shortbread.
Made this for the first time this morning. I’m in Aus and used thickened cream from Woolies, it does work – it just took longer. About 30 minutes to get a beautiful thick caramel, and then I continued to mix it for a further 10 minutes off heat – no splitting. Just be patient with this recipe, and use a medium heat.
Awesome tips, thanks, Ashleigh.
My nephew lasked for more of this delish 🙂 I also tried to vay a bit shredding some nuts on the top and it was a success, I’m gonna try with some shredded coconut for my niece who loves it (my nephew unfortunately can’t have coconut). The experiment done with powdered sweetener dusted on the top of the bar wasn’t a good one, it oversweetened the candy and so I won’t repeat it, but anyway this recipe is a really good starting point for a lot of customizable variations and also a great resource to make every member of the family satisfied with little effort and good nutritional values: thank you!
Brilliant! I love the idea you are adapting this to all those awesome ideas. It is pretty customizable and easy to make too.
What’s everyone else here making with this keto caramel?
This is an amazing and delicious keto caramel slice ! Here’s some tips ! Put some coconut in the base and add some cinnamon for some flavour! The caramel , I use natural brown sugar- free sweetener – that way you get the lovely rich brown colour of the caramel! Stir it for as long as it takes and it needs to be slowly bubbling for atleast 20min – it can separate – if it does “shock” it while stirring furiously with two tablespoons of boiling water 😂- while returning it slowly to the heat ! it works – what a relief and thank goodness ! I’m so proud that I’ve made this twice now with equal success! If you stir the caramel while it cools and put it straight in the fridge it doesn’t separate at all with the butter while cooling ! mine looks chunky with the separate layers and it a now my favourite keto recipe ! Thanks so much !
Wow, what superb tips for making a successful keto caramel slice. I’m glad you found how to salvage the caramel sauce if it splits. I would never have thought of adding boiling water, I’ll try that next time if it happens (which it occasionally does). I usually just continue to stir, what a brilliant alternative.
Great tip adding the boiling water! It worked 🥰 I was about to give up and lucky I read your review!
I made this yesterday and it’s a hit! Two thumbs up from husband and kids who are not really low carb lovers. The sweetner gives me tummy trouble, bummer. I tried, but I know I can’t tolerate erythrol. But I will make this again because they love it. I can use the base which is nice and crispy and the chocolate layer for other treats 😀I had no brown sugar substitute on hand but threw in some coffee granules and that made it a nice colour and taste. Used some extra salt to because the kids love salty caramel.
Absolutely sensational recipe! I can’t get enough of this slice! This is incredible. I think it’s the best dessert I’ve made! Thank you.
This was absolutely one of the best deserts I have made for keto, it is a time consuming recipe, but well worth it. I always do double due to the fact if u don’t have a goodie then me personally I want to snack a little piece of a snicker lol. Thank you for thus great recipe ❤️
Thanks, Karen, I often like to double a recipe up too. It doesn’t take much longer, and is an efficient way to get lots of home made keto goodies quickly.
Good recipe but butter in caramel is wrong should be 120g not 250g so my first attempt didn’t work .
The recipe is correct, you can see from all the wonderful comments that this keto caramel recipe is a keeper! I wonder if the caramel wasn’t cooked for long enough? A lot if the moisture from the heavy cream needs to evaporate. As it cools the butter will begin to harden and solidify. Maybe pop it into the fridge as recommended in the tips and comments from other readers too.
This recipe worked a treat! Perfect, decadent keto dessert! Thank you 🙂
This is the best keto caramel recipe I have come across. Reading all the other reviews I’m not sure why their caramel didn’t work.. mine worked beautifully. I tripled the amount and it took me about 40mins consistently stirring on low heat. I’m in Australia and used normal thickened cream. It worked perfectly. Thank you for sharing. I’ve made this about a dozen times now and thought I would comment so people knew it worked. Thank you!!
That’s amazing! Thank you, Samantha!