I’ve been dreaming about homemade salted caramels for months and their time has finally come! I bought a candy thermometer a few days ago and I just had to put it to good use! Wouldn’t you do the same?! Every time I get my hands on something as interesting as a thermometer, I just have to use it right away, try it out and see how it works, what results it yields, try to learn its tricks and master it. And I did – in just a few days I revisited tempering chocolate just for the sake of doing it with the right way and I made candy apples and three batches of caramels.

No idea about you, but my childhood was closely tight to those chewy, sticky caramels. They were my favorite sweet treat and I’m so happy I managed to make them at home. Homemade salted caramels however involve working with heated sugar which I wrote about here – do check out the article, it’s very informative and useful if you’re a beginner to all of this!

Cooking sugar is not easy and it’s definitely dangerous under the wrong circumstances or lack of safety measures. But once you master it, it yields rewarding results and you can make anything from marshmallows to caramels, rock candy or even artistic sugar pieces if you’re brave enough to try your hand at pulled sugar.

Caramels need to be cooked at about 120-121C, somewhere between the firm ball and hard ball stage of the sugar syrup – the idea is to have caramels that hold their shape but are soft enough to bite into, caramels that melt in your mouth easily and are sticky and gooey. 121C was the perfect temperature for me, but you can juggle with it slightly – either a few degrees down or just 1 or 2 up and see what changes that makes into the consistency of your chilled caramels.



Homemade Salted Caramels Print Author: Olguta - Pastry Workshop Ingredients: 190ml heavy cream

200g white sugar

120g golden syrup

30g butter

½ teaspoon salt

Sea salt flakes to sprinkle the caramels

Baking paper to wrap the caramels Directions: Line a small baking pan with baking paper and place aside. Combine the cream, sugar, golden syrup, butter and ½ teaspoon salt in a heavy saucepan and place over medium flame. Cook the mixture, washing down the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in cold water, until the reading on your thermometer reaches 121C and the mixture looks thickened and golden brown. Be careful as it's incredibly hot! Remove from heat and pour the caramel mixture in the prepared pan. Allow to cool completely then cut into small squares or rectangles. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and wrap each piece individually in baking paper. Store in an airtight container. Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe 3.5.3208

Caramelele acelea lipicioase mi-au marcat copilaria si mult timp mi-am dorit sa le pot face si eu acasa. Evident, scuza vesnica era ca nu am termometru si nu le pot face, dar minunea s-a intamplat si mi-am cumparat termometru (apropo, in caz ca nu stiti ce vreti sa va aduca Mosul, luati in considerare un termometru care e foarte util in bucataria unui cofetar). Asa ca ultimele zile au fost presare cu tot felul de teste, de la a tempera ciocolata cum se cuvine, folosindu-ma de temperaturi, pana la caramele facute in casa si mere glazurate, dar si bezea sau curd de lamaie. E de fapt foarte interesant sa observi stagiile prin care trece un sirop de zahar cand se gateste si sa fii si constient ce inseamna acel stadiu si ce caracteristici are – va invit sa cititi mai multe despre asta in articolul de aici.

Ca sa faceti caramele acasa aveti nevoie de un termometru! Acesta va permite sa controlati temperatura si consistenta siropului perfect, astfel incat sa nu existe nici urma de indoiala ca veti obtine niste caramele perfecte. Sigur, puteti testa siropul de zahar si punand picaturi in apa rece, dar daca nu aveti experienta in domeniu, foarte probabil ca nu va va iesi pentru ca odata ce apa se evapora din sirop, acesta trece de la un stadiu la celalalt extrem de repede si linia dintre consistenta perfecta si prea fiert sau chiar ars e foarte fina.

Ingrediente:

190ml smantana pentru frisca

200g zahar alb

120ml sirop auriu*

30g unt

1/2 lingurita sare

Fulgi de sare pentru presarat peste caramele

hartie de copt pentru a le impacheta

Mod de preparare:

Incepeti prin a pregati o tava mica, patrata, tapetand-o cu hartie de copt. Combinati smantana, zaharul, siropul auriu, untul si 1/2 lingurita sare intr-un vas cu fund gros. Puneti pe foc mediu si fierbeti, spaland peretii vasului cu o pensula inmuiata in apa rece, pana termometrul va indica 121C. Luati imediat de pe foc si turnati in vasul pregatit. Lasati sa se raceasca apoi taiati cuburi mici. Presarati cu putina sare si impachetati fiecare bucatica in hartie de copt.

*Pueti face sirop auriu acasa dupa reteta de mai jos:

Ingrediente:

200g zahar

50ml apa

1kg zahar

600ml apa fierbinte

1 lingura zeama de lamaie

Mod de preparare:

Incepeti prin a combina 200g zahar cu 50ml apa. Puneti pe foc si fierbeti, spaland peretii vasului cu o pensula inmuiata in apa rece, pana siropul devine auriu. Adaugati apa fierbinte, restul de zahar si lamaia. Fierbeti pe foc mic aproximativ 45 minute pana devine gros, lipicios. Lasati sa se raceasca inainte de a-l folosi.

Si pentru ca ne apropiem cu pasi repezi de Craciun – 7 zile dupa calendar (baietelul meu imi aminteste zilnic) – va invit sa vedeti si ce pregatesc de Craciun aceste fete dragi mie:

Claudia – Lecturi si Arome

Iuliana – Retete fel de fel

Iuliana – Bucate aromate

Dia – Retetele mele dragi

Laura – Casuta Laurei

Camelia – Din dragoste pentru bucatarie

Paula – Enjoy Dessert