salt caramels

[Brite14]

My mom is really addicted to the salty/sweet flavor combination. I want to make a batch of chewy caramel candies with a little sprinkle of fleur du sel on top...I have the salt but am looking for a really good recipe for caramels. Anyone?

[kthull]

I haven't tried them yet, but the October issue of Gourmet magazine had a Fleur de Sel Caramel recipe that I intend to try for this year's holiday cookie/candy trays. Recipe's online at epicurious.com here with positive reviews.

Please post feedback here if you try them out.

Good luck!

[pastrymama]

I made the caramels today, they came out very nice,they are rich tasting and just the right chewiness, but to me the salt couldn't be tasted when I tried some after pouring it into the cake pan, so I sprinkled some on the top. It still seemed to disappear, but they are very good anyhow.

[kthull]

Thanks pastrymama! I hope to have enough time to make them...I ordered some of the fleur de sel at King Arthur...great stuff, but expensive.

[FoodMan]

I know it's not exactly the same but I made a bitter chocolate ice cream with chuncks of homemade sea salt pistachio brittle in it. It was awsome, and I really had to keep myself from eating the salty sweet brittle before I added to the ice cream.

To make the brittle I used regular coarse sea salt not the much more expensive and fine/flaky textured Fleur De Sel. If you want a more assertive salty taste try doing that. For the brittle just use equal amounts of toasted pistachios to sugar. Make a dry caramel with the sugar, add maybe a tablespoon of salt to the caramel, then add the pistachios. Stir to combine. Dump the whole thing (CAREFUL!! VERY HOT!) onto a baking sheet sprayed with Pam, spread with a spatula and let cool. Enjoy.

Elie

[reesek]

what a great idea...pastrymama, did you by chance sprinkle any additional salt on top of the caramel (what the renowned "Fran" does here in Seattle) mmm, sounds like a lovely holiday gift!

[KatieM]

This whole salted caramel thing seems to be pretty trendy right now. I've seen quite a few recipes lately in various mags. I think there was one in the September Food and Wine that had a salted caramel as a topping for individual cheesecakes. Looked pretty good. I'm actually working on a chocolate tart that has the same topping. Salty, sweet, and chocolate is a divine combination!

Looks like it will be an excellent holiday gift! Me, I'm doing gourmet dog biscuits. I have a lot of friends who have dogs that are like their children. Hmm . . . maybe we should have a what are you making for holiday gifts thread? Off to start one in Special Occasions . . .

[Rachel Perlow]

Just in case someone feels like buying, rather than making them, the Grateful Palate has Fleur de Sel Caramels available in their 2005 catalog (p. 75). Catalog description:

Okay, I admit it: I have an incurable weakness for caramel. It's one of those candies that always tastes good, but rarely tastes great. I've never sold a caramel before, because I could never find a great one. These caramels, made with a tiny touch of fleur de sel, are amongst the finest I've come across.

250g box $19.95

Call 888-472-5283 to order, their website doesn't have online ordering.

[fryguy]

Just in case someone feels like buying, rather than making them, the Grateful Palate has Fleur de Sel Caramels available in their 2005 catalog (p. 75). Catalog description:

Okay, I admit it: I have an incurable weakness for caramel. It's one of those candies that always tastes good, but rarely tastes great. I've never sold a caramel before, because I could never find a great one. These caramels, made with a tiny touch of fleur de sel, are amongst the finest I've come across.

250g box $19.95

Call 888-472-5283 to order, their website doesn't have online ordering.

←

Zingerman's also has them, although more expensive ($25 +s/h).

[joiei]

Fran's Chocolates has them in the original and in smoked sea salt. The original is $20 for 8oz (16 pieces)

[melmck]

Martha Stewart's recipes for caramels are flawless, and they last forever. Probably in her best of or dessert books.I don't have it on me right now. good luck!

[LEdlund]

The caramel recipe looks great. I would like to dip them in chocolate and sprinkle Fleur de Sel on top - like Fran's. I imagine I will use a skewer to dip them and cover the skewer hole by hand. Does this seem like the best method? Also, should I add anything to the chocolate when I melt it?

[chefcyn]

The caramel recipe looks great. I would like to dip them in chocolate and sprinkle Fleur de Sel on top - like Fran's. I imagine I will use a skewer to dip them and cover the skewer hole by hand. Does this seem like the best method? Also, should I add anything to the chocolate when I melt it?

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Use a dipping fork--it consists of two tines with little balls on the tips, you drop the caramel into the melted chocolate and fish it out with the fork. There is also another dipping tool that has an oblong loop (like a bottomless spoon) that works in a similar way as the fork. With either tool, you can lightly scrape off the excess chocolate from the bottom of the caramel as you remove it from the pan and place it onto a wax paper or parchment covered sheetpan to set up.

Edited December 2, 2004 by chefcyn (log)

[Brite14]

This whole salted caramel thing seems to be pretty trendy right now. I've seen quite a few recipes lately in various mags. I think there was one in the September Food and Wine that had a salted caramel as a topping for individual cheesecakes. Looked pretty good. 

←

My mom, the salty/sweet addict, made these. She took the caramel a little farther than I would have liked- it had that distinct burnt sugar flavor- but other than that it was delicious.

[laniloa]

Anyone have any suggestions for shipping caramels? I'll be making some for holiday treats and someone asked about making an extra batch to ship to his son. I was thinking it might be best to leave it as a slab, wrap in wax paper, and then wrap in plastic wrap. He can cut it when he gets it. What do you think?

[duckduck]

Making my mouth water! I love Fran's. The one's with the smoked salt are my faves. They have a wonderful balance to them with the milk chocolate. I love the other kind too. They're much more intense. Some odd kinds of salts to play with if anyone is interested at http://www.saltsoftheworld.com/

Edited November 25, 2005 by duckduck (log)

[Tweety69bird]

Making my mouth water! I love Fran's. The one's with the smoked salt are my faves. They have a wonderful balance to them with the milk chocolate.

duckduck, is the flavour of the smoked salt throughout the caramel or is it only sprinkled on top? I actually have some smoked Halen Mon salt at home, and this would be a great way to use it. Thanks.

[duckduck]

It's on the top.

[duckduck]

Found another cool salt website.

http://www.saltworks.us/shop/category.asp?idCat=1

[Badiane]

I made caramels last night...here's my recipe

1/2 pound butter...melted in a big pot

3 cups granulated sugar

2 cups light corn syrup

1 can condensed milk

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Melt the butter in the pot first, then toss the rest in and stir. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until it reaches the hard ball stage. Pour onto a parchment lined baking sheet or cake pan - depending on how thick you want them.

We like ours thinner and flatter, so I use a medium sized baking sheet. If you want really fat thick ones, I would use a 9x9 cake pan. Just know that the thicker they are, the harder they are to cut. I wear an oven mitt on the hand I use to press down on the knife...less painful that way.

[mikeycook]

Saw a recipe in the NY Times Magazine this weekend.

[Mette]

I haven't tried them yet, but the October issue of Gourmet magazine had a Fleur de Sel Caramel recipe that I intend to try for this year's holiday cookie/candy trays. Recipe's online at epicurious.com here with positive reviews.

Please post feedback here if you try them out.

Good luck!

←

I know I'm probably hopelessly behind the current trends in chocolate and caramel, but I recently tried salty, chocolate covered almond brittle, and it spurred me on to try the recipe mentioned. They are delicious!!!!!

I cooked them a bit warmer than stated in the recipe, about 122 c. (i like caramels that are quite firm)and upped the salt 2½ times (used Maldon as fleur de sel is not in my cupboard) - still not terribly salty, but quite addictive. Chocolate covered and sprinkled with additional salt. Good way of making friends at a new job

Edited May 25, 2006 by Mette (log)

[alanamoana]

mette,

those look great! and delicious...

[Desiderio]

I just tryed these caramels the other day ,unfortunally I follow a suggestion from someone living in the same area I am ( altitude ) and cooked them at 238F , wich is the temperature she suggested, they were way too soft and hard to coat.

I did an attempt the first time , I didnt have enough cream so I made them hard , and they were deliciuos, definatly I like the satly caramel , but I think ,like Mette , I like my caramels to be on the firmer side , I also doubled the salt in the recepie.

I am going to give it another try tomorrow or so and bring them up to 248F wich is the original temperature.

I have one question ,in the first part of the recepie , when you have to make the caramel , if I make a darker caramel ( like for a burnt caramel type ) does this affect the final consistency of the caramels ?And I want to try to make these with lavender ,cause I think caramel and lavender are the best ,should I infuse the lavender into the cream as for a regular ganache, then strain and use it as the recepie calls?

ANother thing, can I substitute the corn syrup with glucose, and if yes should I keep the same amount, and ( LOL ) is glucose better than corn syrup ?

I have wedding event coming in september and the couple is getting a french theme for the menu', so I was thinking to make the raspberry fleur de lis and either some feulletin ( sp ) or some lavender fleur de sel, and I am asking once again where is the best place to get transfer sheets .

Edited July 11, 2006 by Desiderio (log)

[Desiderio]

Ok once more these caramels are too soft to even keep the shape for 5 minuts or been dipped in chocolate.

So I just got all the sblob mass of caramel and toss it in the pan again and cooked it to 255 or so,now back in the container will see later on what it looks like .

And whats the deal with altitude thingy ,based on my altitude and after I calibrate my thermomerer for my level ( water boil at 203 here ),I should cook these caramels at 239 wich it will make them very very soft almost stil saucy.

bahhh.