These soft caramels are not difficult to make and very easy to eat. I infused the cream with cardamom flavor and added a good portion of fleur de sel. I do have an addiction to salted caramel. I guess, it shows…
The recipe is from “Pure Desserts” by Alice Medrich (I’m addicted to her recipes, as well), slightly adapted.
Makes a lot (it entirely depends on the way you cut them)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 10 cardamom pods, bruised
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp fleur de sel
Preparation:
Line the bottom and sides of the 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and grease the foil. If you don’t use butter but oil spray, spray the foil just before pouring the cooked caramel. Otherwise, the oil will accumulate in puddles leaving some ungreased bare spots, to which the caramel will seriously stick.
In a medium saucepan, combine the cream and crushed cardamom pods. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover, let steep for 30 minutes.
Combine the corn syrup, honey, and sugar 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 3 minutes. (Meanwhile, rinse the spatula or spoon before using it again later.) Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more. 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.
Meanwhile, reheat the cream until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.
When the sugar mixture reaches 305F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream pouring through a fine mesh sieve and leaving the cardamom pods aside; 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 245F. Then cook, stirring constantly, to 248F for soft, chewy caramels or 250F for firmer chewy caramels.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and fleur de sel. Pour the caramel into the lined and greased pan. Let set for 4 to 5 hours, or overnight, until firm.
Lift the pan liner from the pan and invert the sheet of caramel onto a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the liner and turn the caramel right side up. Cut the caramels with an oiled knife. Wrap each caramel individually in wax paper or cellophane.
December 1, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Спасибо !
November 23, 2011 at 9:55 pm
Олеся, я рада что вам понравилось. Я думаю, что при прохладной комнатной температуре они проживут пару недель.
November 22, 2011 at 12:54 pm
I made it 2 times already ,and it was perfect !!!
i am wondering what is their shelf life?
Спасибо за вкусный блог ! Олеся.
August 29, 2010 at 8:17 pm
I was really looking forward to these, but 305F is 151C, and at that temperature, my sugar mixture was bitter and burnt. Is there any way of visually knowing when to take it off the heat? Or should I reduce the temperature? Also, can maple syrup be used in place of corn syrup?
Thanks.
April 25, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Jeni, thank you for your feedback, I really hope you liked it!
April 22, 2010 at 1:12 pm
hi Vera,
Thank you for the recipe! I made a batch last night and is now sitting on the kitchen table waiting to be cut and wrapped tonight.
the whole house smelled very lovely at around bedtime. i pulled the pan off at 249. the temp went up a few degrees while i waited for the bubbles to subside so i hope it is not too hard to cut.
September 29, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Bella, thank you! Yes, you can use glucose instead.
September 29, 2009 at 2:27 pm
oo this caramel sounds heavenly! Just one question, can i substitute the corn syrup with glucose derived from corn syrup? Glucose is all i can find in the stores here. thankyou!
July 23, 2009 at 3:18 am
you know what? i have an idea- warm it back in the pan until its good
July 23, 2009 at 3:15 am
for ex-how much time it should cooked?
July 23, 2009 at 3:13 am
it could be the reason the problem is that we dont measure in F we measure in C… and thats why its not accurate- can i manage without
thermometer at all?
and we dont have special candy thermometer ….
July 23, 2009 at 2:10 am
Kathy, they are not supposed to be very firm; these are soft caramels. But the caramel should be firm enough to be sliced and hold its shape.
You probably have not cooked it long enough. Check your candy thermometer for accuracy.
July 22, 2009 at 10:06 pm
i made it-and it didnt get firm.
can you think on a reason?
December 4, 2008 at 2:34 am
I can´t make the caramels, no time, but yours must be d3elicious!!
Ana
November 30, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Thank you, everybody, for stopping by and leaving a comment! I do greatly appreciate it! Thank you so much!
November 30, 2008 at 8:43 pm
my goodness, these look phenomenal! I love your site.
November 30, 2008 at 1:37 pm
lovely! i did not make these but as i have the book had bookmarked it a while back to make for christmas giveaways. yours look great!
November 30, 2008 at 12:49 pm
these look so nice better than the\store bought ones :) ideal for Christmas gifts
November 30, 2008 at 6:07 am
Absolutely lovely! My favorite candy is caramel. I have never had salted caramels before and this is on my to do list for this month. Thanks!
November 29, 2008 at 4:42 pm
So beautiful! And so nicely wraped!
November 29, 2008 at 3:54 pm
How fun! I really would love to try my hand at these. Caramel and cardamom sounds fantastic together, and adding fleur de sel…. mmmmmmmmmmm………..
November 29, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I love cardamom, haven’t tried it with caramel before…will have to try.
November 29, 2008 at 11:20 am
Love your cake, love the small caramel flowers. Really cute
November 29, 2008 at 9:33 am
Those look fantastic, and I’m definitely going to have to try that flavor combination. I love cardamom.
November 29, 2008 at 7:24 am
There is something so elegant about making your own handmade candies to give to your guests after a nice meal.
November 29, 2008 at 6:18 am
Beautiful caramels! Wrapped perfectly!
November 29, 2008 at 3:32 am
Wow ! what a cake ! What a work of art ! I don’t like this type of frostings too and I hope this will be the last one !!!
November 29, 2008 at 2:16 am
Those caramels look wonderful!
Cheers,
Rosa
November 29, 2008 at 1:50 am
I’m addicted to Alice Medrich’s recipes too :) I love how you wrapped these caramels. It looks like it was done so lovingly.
November 29, 2008 at 12:43 am
Great caramels too. I love the paper you used to wrap them.