my.requiescence.

Fleur de Sel Caramels

How is everyone doing with their New Year’s resolutions? 

I am a horrible person because I am posting a recipe that makes about 80 homemade caramels a mere 4 days after some of you have resolved to cut down on sugar and unnecessary sweets in 2011. But I just know that if you made these, you’d forgive me immediately because these are just simply divine.

The idea of making candy has always scared me just a little bit… all that boiling (for who-knows-how-long!), all that sugar, I just have no idea what I’m doing, oh and I don’t own a candy thermometer. But, as luck would have it, during a quick trip to the grocery store that afternoon I had reserved for baking cookies for Christmas, there was a huge display with candy thermometers in the deli/frozen meats section (why, I have no clue)… and they were on sale. SALE, people! So, of course, I bought one. And I immediately knew what I wanted to make with my shiny new $3 candy thermometer. Salted caramels.

I haven’t made caramels before, though I’ve come close (here and here), but it was time to take the training wheels off!! And it really wasn’t so bad… once I realized that all I had to do was figure out how to boil sugar and corn syrup to freakishly high 3-digit temperatures, add cream and not freak out too badly when the mixture bubbled and hissed, and then (patiently) wait till my new ever-so-handy candy thermometer read either 260ºF (a.k.a. hard ball, for softer chewy caramels) or 265ºF (for firmer caramels). Because I was a little bit wary of the bubbling sugar at boiling temperatures, I wasn’t quite sure how high to set my stove and started out conservatively at a low setting. After 30 min of smallish bubbles, my sugar and cream mixture was nowhere near 260º, and I realized I had to crank it up if I ever wanted to eat these caramels before the new year. Once the temperature started rising, it was pretty straightforward- I knew I wanted a consistency firmer than salt-water taffy, so I went for 265ºF and the firmer texture.

Once the caramel cools to room temperature, they are sprinkled with additional salt to contrast the lovely sweet buttery flavor of caramelized sugar, and can be cut and wrapped into individual servings. The recipe also includes variations for vanilla or other spiced caramels that I would love to try… except that these fleur de sel caramels are pretty much perfect and just like how I tend to order the same thing at favorite restaurants: I probably will just continue to make these forever.

Fleur de Sel Caramels
adapted from use real butter, via Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert

makes 81 1 inch caramel squares

1 cup golden syrup (I used light corn syrup)
2 cups sugar
3/8 tsps fine sea salt
2 cups heavy cream
3 tbsps unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened

additional fleur de sel or flaky sea salt for sprinkling after 

1. Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with aluminum foil and grease the foil. 
2. Combine the golden syrup, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to simmer around the edges. Wash the sugar and syrup from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes. Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more. 
3. Attach the candy thermometer to the pan, without letting it touch the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered (without stirring) until the mixture reaches 305°F (288°F at 8500 feet). 
4. In a smaller pan, heat cream until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.
5. When the sugar mixture reaches 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically, so be careful. Turn the burner back on and adjust it so that the mixture boils energetically but not violently. Stir until any thickened syrup at the bottom of the pan is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 245°F. Then cook, stirring constantly, to 260°F for soft, chewy caramels or 265°F (240°F at 8500 feet); for firmer chewy caramels.
6. Pour the caramel into the lined pan. Let set for 1-2 hours, until room temperature or just a little warm.
7. Sprinkle 2 pinches of salt and press it into the caramel. If desired, invert, remove the pan liner, and sprinkle the other side with more salt.
8. Cut the caramels with an oiled knife. Wrap each caramel individually in wax paper or cellophane. 

variations

Vanilla Bean Caramels: Add 1 split vanilla pod to the cream to the cream before you heat it. Or add 1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract before pouring the caramel into the pan.

Nutmeg and Vanilla Bean Caramels: Add 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg to the cream before you heat it.

Cardamom Caramels: Omit the vanilla. Add 1/2 teaspoon slightly crushed cardamom seeds (from about 15 cardamom pods) to the cream before heating it. Strain the cream when you add it to the caramel; discard the seeds.