Now that you’re a pro at making your own brittle, it’s time to tackle caramels.
Salted caramel is all the rage these days and for good reason! Nothing offsets the sticky sweetness of caramel better than a little pinch of fleur de sel. Try experimenting with different types of salt to see what interesting, mineral notes it brings to these simple confections. Maybe you have a little grey salt to sprinkle on top or perhaps you have a jar of Himalayan pink salt collecting dust in your pantry.
Chocolate can also be folded in, to add another layer of flavor. A coating of bittersweet chocolate will add a subtle bitterness to cut the sweet caramel and further bring out the flavor of the salt.
Salted Caramels
— 1 cup heavy cream
— 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
— 1 teaspoon fleur de sel
— 1 1/2 cups sugar
— 1/4 cup light corn syrup
Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.
Bring cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.
Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.
Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes.
Pour into baking pan and cool 2 hours.
Once cool, cut into 1-inch pieces with a sharp, greased knife.
At this point, feel free to add more salt to the top or coat your caramels in melted dark chocolate. Let chocolate cool and harden completely.
Wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting the two ends closed.
Click below for a printable version of this recipe.
