HELP -- salt caramel recipe?

[Ladybug]

I've been trying to find the best salt caramel recipe. Apparently Ina's measurements are all messed up on foodnetwork and reviewers recommended the the epicurious recipe. Their's looks pretty standard compared to others I've found online. I ordered some to-die-for salt caramels from CA once. I'd love to learn how to make them and give them as my annual V-day gift. I have very little candy experience (just peanut brittle). Heidi, Nellie, Chris, anyone, do you have killer, top-secret salt caramel recipes or candy making advice?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...aramels-230778

Fleur de Sel Caramels
Gourmet | October 2004

Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon fleur de sel*
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water


Special equipment: parchment paper; a deep-fat thermometer
print a shopping list for this recipe


PreparationLine bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.

Bring cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.

Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.

Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into baking pan and cool 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.

*Available at specialty foods shops and SaltWorks (800-353-7258).

[Vanquisher]

Sorry, Annie. I have never made salt caramels. My only advice with candy making is make sure you have a good candy thermometer, and stick to it!

My advice is to get in touch with Chris (and Heidi on the thermometer). I lurve fleur de sel caramels. Where did you order from? I have a few favorites around here but always like to try new ones.
eta: I think the Michael Recchiutti book "Chocolate Obsession" has a recipe and detailed instructions. I don't know if it differs from the one above but IIRC there are photos that could be helpful. Might be worth a trip to the library to look. I haven't looked at that book for a few years though. Here is a link to a Gourmet ('06? different than the one above?) recipe and write-up on making them:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/11/salty-and-sublime/

[Ladybug]

Thank you, thank you.. Heidi, I bought a hefty candy themometer today. Our old one was busted. I'll FB Chris and see if she surfaces. I was going to try them this afternoon but I'm too tired after running errands all morning. I'll give it a whirl tomorrow. Fingers crossed. When I perfect the technique you're both at the top of my mailing list for salty caramel treats.

Here's the store I ordered the sea salt caramels from. They were featured in a magazine some years back. I bought three extra bags thinking they would make great spur-of-the-moment hostess gifts and...ate them all. Bad, bad idea.

http://www.littleflowercandyco.com/

[Ladybug]

Two batches in the trash. Thankfully it's not expensive ingredients. Chris said to get out a notebook and treat it like a lab. She did 30 experiments on toffee once. I think I still have a long ways to go but I'm determined to make it to that pot of golden caramels at the end.

To be continued...

[scrub-jay]

Two batches in the trash. Thankfully it's not expensive ingredients. Chris said to get out a notebook and treat it like a lab. She did 30 experiments on toffee once. I think I still have a long ways to go but I'm determined to make it to that pot of golden caramels at the end.

To be continued...

Hang in there, you'll be a candy-making pro in no time. I've never made salt caramels, but I've made many caramels and other types of candy. The notebook is a great idea...candy is very finicky (I think that is why I usually make cookies or other decadent baked dessert).

Good luck and keep us updated!

[smama]

Hi Ladies ....

I am VERY new here but as a pastry chef I thought I could chime in. Working with sugar takes a lot of practice. A lot of commercial candy makers have access to ingredients that aren't found in grocery stores, inverted sugars etc can be purchased online (normally in massive quantities) and are a major factor in achieving the *perfect* texture.

Looking at the recipie above the big thing that jumps out at me is the heating of the sugar. I don't want to get tooooo into the science of it but when you heat sugar and water you must keep every single crystal of sugar hydrated to prevent crystallization - the number one way to ruin the texture of any candy. Adding corn syrup to the mix helps cut down on the crystallization, but you still have to be mindful of it. The easiest thing to do is to take a wet brush and brush down the sides of the pot to wash any sugar crystals back into the mixture.

The other thing I see in that recipe is that it is calls for a final temp of 248. I would take the caramel off the heat a little sooner - no higher than 245 with 243 being ideal. I can elaborate on the stages of sugar cooking further if you are interested. I can geek out on candy making all day .... lol.

I have three recipies for caramals - one that uses heavy cream, one that uses evaporated milk and one that uses condensed milk. All three formulas are in grams/ounces so a scale is necessary and all three can be tweaked to make a few different varieties - coffee, chocolate, anise, cinnamon etc. Let me know if you are interested.

Any questions I would love to help.

[ladymoreta]

Mmm, we're going to love having you around!!!

[Ladybug]

Ohhhhhh...a pastry chef, a pastry chef!

I gave up on this recipe and tried the CIA book's soft caramel recipe that uses condensed milk. I liked the texture better, but they still ultimated cooled off to be too hard. I'll try again and take them off sooner and report back.

Did I mention how excited I am to meet you? It looks like you have a new baby too.

[scrub-jay]

Thanks for the great advice!! I'd all but given up on candy-making, but with an expert in house...

[smama]

Glad to be here and very happy to help! Ask away!

You should know that outing yourself as a pastry chef is one of the fastest ways to get yourself ingratiated into the "club". We've got a certified chocolate master on here, but with 4 kids under (how old is G these days?? 5? 6?), she seems to be kind of busy, and a few of us are really, really into baking in a nerdy way (ie, would have totally geeked over your chemistry explanation you were hesitant to give). Is there a way to put a user on speed-PM?

[reciprocity]

Working with sugar takes a lot of practice.

this is exactly why I stopped my forays into confectionery with poured fondant - just far enough to make delicious petit fours and iced sugar cookies, not far enough to drive me mad

[smama]

Lily you are absolutely correct re: humidity. It messes with A LOT of things in the kitchen - especially on the pastry side. You are no freak, just very in tune with your sugar Adding dairy also makes the process a little more forgiving. I love your hard crack test!

I have spent most of my career in restaurant kitchens that have had a "new american" bent to them - Tarts, pies, cakes, puddings, icecream etc. But my very first job in a pastry kitchen was at a serious french restaurant where we made very elaborate petite four trays that had a dozen varieties of candies, chocolates, petite pastry. Sadly I haven't done much work with candy or chocolate since. I have a lot of great books though!

Now that I am into more of a routine with the little one, I am planning to start working on a new recipe each week. I will share the experiments!

Shakti - As you well know understanding the science is the most important part of any cooking - especially baking - so to get to a certain level requires some degree of nerdiness. Looking forward to geeking out together!

You are no freak, just very in tune with your sugar

I'd say that's a perfect way to describe her .

And yes, cooking (especially baking) really is a science. I still remember my first exposure to Cook's Illustrated 11 or 12 years ago ... I'd found Narnia!