Caramels without corn syrup
I've been wanting to make caramels for a while.
See, there's this grey Celtic sea salt that has been just sitting around, begging to be incorporated in something yummy, and then there was a sale on butter, and then we got some heavy cream...
Unfortunately, it turns out that I must have given my copy of Oh Fudge away (uncledark, did that go to you?). It's the only place I've been able to find an old-fashioned recipe for caramels, one that doesn't use corn syrup or an equivalent.
So I did what any enterprising cook would, I decided to improvise.
Of course, candy making is a fairy exact science, even more so than baking, and all I had to go from was vague memories of having made chocolate caramels once, and a lot of fudge making experience.
Here's the resulting recipe:
Salted Brandy Caramels
1 stick butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp brandy flavoring
Dash of Celtic grey sea salt
Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add sugars, stirring until fully incorporated. Bring to a low boil, stirring frequently until sugar crystals are dissolved and mixture begins to brown slightly. Add cream, stirring rapidly, and return to low boil. Add small amount of salt. Allow mixture to boil, stirring infrequently, until soft ball stage is reached (test by proofing). Remove from heat and shock mixture externally by placing pan in a bowl of cold water. Immediately shock internally by adding brandy flavoring and stirring to incorporate (be careful not to have head over pan while brandy is added, or you will get drunk off the fumes!). Allow mixture to settle and begin to harden in pan. Then pour into buttered dish and place in a cool location to harden. Cut caramels with buttered knife, sprinkle with sea salt.
They're pretty darn tasty, if I do say so myself.
UPDATE: I have now coated the majority of the caramels in dark chocolate and sprinkled a few grains of sea salt on top. Yuuuuuuuum.
See, there's this grey Celtic sea salt that has been just sitting around, begging to be incorporated in something yummy, and then there was a sale on butter, and then we got some heavy cream...
Unfortunately, it turns out that I must have given my copy of Oh Fudge away (uncledark, did that go to you?). It's the only place I've been able to find an old-fashioned recipe for caramels, one that doesn't use corn syrup or an equivalent.
So I did what any enterprising cook would, I decided to improvise.
Of course, candy making is a fairy exact science, even more so than baking, and all I had to go from was vague memories of having made chocolate caramels once, and a lot of fudge making experience.
Here's the resulting recipe:
Salted Brandy Caramels
1 stick butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp brandy flavoring
Dash of Celtic grey sea salt
Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add sugars, stirring until fully incorporated. Bring to a low boil, stirring frequently until sugar crystals are dissolved and mixture begins to brown slightly. Add cream, stirring rapidly, and return to low boil. Add small amount of salt. Allow mixture to boil, stirring infrequently, until soft ball stage is reached (test by proofing). Remove from heat and shock mixture externally by placing pan in a bowl of cold water. Immediately shock internally by adding brandy flavoring and stirring to incorporate (be careful not to have head over pan while brandy is added, or you will get drunk off the fumes!). Allow mixture to settle and begin to harden in pan. Then pour into buttered dish and place in a cool location to harden. Cut caramels with buttered knife, sprinkle with sea salt.
They're pretty darn tasty, if I do say so myself.
UPDATE: I have now coated the majority of the caramels in dark chocolate and sprinkled a few grains of sea salt on top. Yuuuuuuuum.