Chewy dewy caramels with a touch of salt and dark chocolate. Wonderful winter candy and give away gift!
Cold and dark winter nights wants me to make stuff I usually do not make; like caramels, fudges, candies and heavily iced ginger cookies with colorful smarties on. I know there are plenty of caramels to choose between in the shops, but there is something goodilicious about homemade caramels and candies. And imagine all the love you add in the candies which you do not find in the mass produced stuff.
I will try to post up some delicious Winter Treats during the winter season; cute, little, sweet goodies that can bring up your mood in an instant! These Salt Caramels are the first in the instant comfort Winter Treats session.
I wanted to try the tempting Creamy Caramells by Passion4Baking, but I did not have brown sugar available so I ended up with a recipe for Homemade Sea Salt Caramels from Taste of Adventure. They looked delicious and the extra touch of salt just sounded so good in combination with the sweet. I just love the sweet and sour or salt and sweet combination, be it chocolate, cookies, candies, chips or yeah you name it. So this combination could most probably not go wrong for me.
Well, I did not have any sea salt so I just added regular table salt which I think worked fine, but I guess the sea salt might add an extra touch to the taste. I coated mine caramels with dark melted chocolate, sprinkled a little more salt on and garnished them with crushed cashew nuts. Mmmmm, lovely soft caramels, maybe a little more salt would even do better (I was afraid to add too much).
These Salt Caramels are a nice treat to give away to someone. Put them in a little cute box or wrap them in waxed paper, cover with cellophane and add a cute ribbon around.
About 30 caramels (recipe adapted from Taste for Adventure)
I n g r e d i e n t s
2,4 dl heavy whipping cream
70 g butter, cubed
1 tsp salt (sea salt)
240 g sugar
0,6 dl corn syrup
2 tsp glucose, liquid (optional) *
0,6 dl water
* Adding liquid glucose will prevent the crystallization of sugar, but it is not necessary to use it
Line an 8-by-8-inch or 20 x 20 cm baking pan with parchment paper and brush or spray lightly with oil and set aside
1. In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream, butter and salt to a boil
2. Remove from heat and set aside
3. In a large saucepan over high heat, stir together sugar, corn syrup, glucose and water until sugar is dissolved
4. Boil without stirring (you can gently swirl the entire saucepan occasionally to ensure even heating)
5. Let the mixture turn to a light golden caramel color
6. Lower heat to a simmer and very carefully pour cream mixture into large saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a temperature of 250 degrees F or 120 C, or "firm ball" stage
7. Pour mixture into baking pan and allow to cool completely, about 2 hours. Half an hour after pouring, sprinkle caramel with more sea salt as desired
Remove caramel from baking pan by lifting the parchment paper and, using a very sharp, warm knife, cut the caramel into 1-inch squares. Wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting two ends to seal
* Dip the caramels in melted chocolate, let cool and garnish with crushed cashew nuts or sprinkle some salt
Mmm, caramels..
A big bite!
Great combination of caramel, salt and dark chocolate, topped with crushed cashew nuts!
