Salted Caramels
OK, so I LOVE salted caramel. As a candy. As an ice cream. As a sauce…you name it. And like all of my favorites, I went on a quest to perfect the recipe. I think I finally did it (and they’re actually really easy to make)!
It’s rich in flavor. It’s buttery. It’s sweet and salty. It has a silky smooth texture, and the best part, it does not stick to my teeth.
Recipe
2 cups heavy cream
10 Tablespoons Butter (I recommend Irish, like Kerrygold or French, like beurre de baratte)
2 teaspoons fleur de sel
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
Parchment Paper
Cooking Spray
Candy Thermometer / Digital Thermometer
Fleur de Sel to top
Instructions
1. Line an 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper. Alternatively, if you make caramels enough, I would recommend using silicone molds (shown at the bottom of the page). If using a 9x13 inch pan, lightly oil the parchment paper and sides of the pan. If using molds, lightly spray with cooking oil.
2. Put the cream, butter and salt in a small saucepan. Place over med-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. While the cream mixture is heating, place the sugar, corn syrup and water in a heavy bottomed, 7-quart pot and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Continue to cook without stirring but gently swirling the pan. Once the sugar mixture turns a light golden color, pay close attention. It will go from light golden, to deep golden, to burnt very quickly. You want it to be a dark golden color, like maple syrup. It may smell like the sugar is burning, or about to burn. This is the signal to act quickly, and move on to the next step.
5. Pour in the cream mixture you prepared. Be careful, as the mixture will bubble up and release a huge cloud of steam. Speaking from experience, the steam can burn you; I recommend wearing oven mits when pouring the cream mixture into the sugar.
6. Put the candy thermometer in and oil over high heat, stirring frequently, for about 10 to 15 minutes. This is where you need to decide what type of caramel you want to make (sauce, soft and chewy, or hard). For a sauce, it should read around 230 degrees Fahrenheit. For soft caramels, boil the mixture until the thermometer reads between 242-248 degrees Fahrenheit for a soft and chewy caramel. I heat to between 244-245 degrees for my favorite consistency, checking accuracy with a digital thermometer. It will produce firm, but still chewy caramel. If you want a hard caramel candy, heat to 260 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Quickly remove from heat once the caramel reaches the desired temperature outlined above.
8. If using a 9x13 inch pan, pour all of the caramel into the prepared pan. If using caramel molds, pour the caramel into a measuring cup so you can easily pour into greased molds without spilling.
9. Wait 5 minutes and sprinkle with fleur de sel.
10. Let the caramels set for a minimum of 2 hours. If using a 9x13 inch pan, let them set on the counter. If using molds, cover the top in parchment paper and place in freezer - this will allow you to easily remove the caramels from the molds without distorting the shape.
11. Remove caramels from the pan or molds. If using 9x13 inch pan, use a hot, wet knife to cut into bars.
12. Wrap each caramel individually in parchment. Pro tip: Buy pre-cut squares of parchment to wrap the caramels in. It will cost a little more, but save you a significant amount of time. It’s well worth it in my opinion.
