Homemade Caramels With Sea Salt
Homemade caramels with sea salt. Oh my God…! They are the perfect texture. Chewy yet soft with a rich and sweet caramel flavor mixed with the saltiness from the sea salt. These things are dangerous. Beware.
This was my very first time making any type of candy, let alone caramel. I’ve always wanted to try making my own. I recently purchased a candy thermometer from Amazon (which I love). I’ll make sure to add the link to the product at the end of this blog if you are interested or in the market for a candy thermometer. I highly recommend this one. Ok, anyways…back to the caramel.
The thought of making my own caramels honestly intimidated me. That’s why I have put it off for so long. I thought I would screw it up, and they wouldn’t come out right, or I would end up burning the caramel and ruining the entire thing. But it honestly isn’t that bad at all. It is time-consuming if anything getting the caramel to the right temperature, but it’s not difficult. Just a whole lot of waiting, which is totally worth it in the end.
These guys are the perfect sweet treat to bring to a holiday party, or even as a hostess gift. Wrap them up in some cute wax paper or parchment paper and they look adorable!
For this recipe, you will need light corn syrup, white sugar, unsalted butter, water, sea salt, heavy cream, and a candy thermometer.
You will need a 9×5 inch loaf pan along with some parchment paper to line the bottom and sides with. You want to make sure to create an inch wall going up the sides of the pan with the parchment paper. I just measure out a 9×5 piece of parchment paper and add an inch on, cut it and add to the greased loaf pan.
I really wish caramels were a little healthier for you. The amount of butter, sugar, and cream in these caramels is a little concerning. But hey, it’s the Holidays. Tis the season!
There is a mixture of butter and cream that you want to prepare ahead of time before doing anything else and set it aside. You want to make sure to cube your stick of butter into 8 cubes.
Add the cubed butter in a microwave-safe bowl, along with your cream and microwave for about 1-2 minutes until the butter is completely melted. Make sure to cover your bowl with a napkin or something. Butter can get very messy and explosive when microwaved. Which leads to a very unpleasant mess in your microwave.
As I said, you want to set the butter and cream mixture to the side for later use.
Now comes the fun part..starting the caramel!
You want to use a medium-sized saucepan for this. Unless you are doubling your recipe then I would use a bigger saucepan.
You want to add your corn syrup and water to the saucepan and mix to combine. I used a whisk for this. Turn on the heat to medium.
I thought this looked so cool when it started to heat up! I just had to take a picture…
When you add your sugar, you want to make sure to add it gently without getting it all over the sides of the pans. Gently whisk it together to incorporate it into the corn syrup and water. Bring the sugar to a boil and then cover with lid for about 1 minute.
Once 1 minute is up, remove the lid and add your candy thermometer in the pan. Now you wait. You want the temperature to reach 320 degrees F. This may take 10-15 minutes or longer. I think it took mine around 20 minutes to reach the desired temperature.
Once it has reached 320 degrees F, it should have a beautiful light amber color.
The next part you want to be careful not to splash and burn yourself. You want to pour in half of the butter and cream mixture into your pot. This will make the caramel bubble up and dance around if you will. Just pour it slowly and steadily and you will be fine. Use your thermometer to stir it around as you pour it in.
Pour the remaining half left, and stir around until combined. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until the thermometer reaches 240 or 245 degrees F. It depends on if you want your caramels softer or harder. I cooked mine until it reached 245 degrees F for a more harder/chewier caramel.
Once your caramel has reached the desired temperature, you want to carefully pour it into your prepared pan immediately. Let it sit for about 20-30 minutes before you sprinkle the salt on top.
Let it completely cool for about 3 1/2 hours before cutting it up.
I wrapped mine individually in wax paper. It depends if you are giving them away to people or serving them right up after they are cooled.
You can always put them out on a cute dish unwrapped to serve immediately. Wrapping them prevents them from sticking together. but if you know they are going to be gone before your eyes, there really is no point in wrapping them!
Enjoy!!!
Homemade Caramels With Seasalt
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup Corn Syrup, light
- 1/2 TSP Sea Salt, course
- 1 Cup White Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Butter, Unsalted
- 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
- 3 TBSP water
Instructions
- Lightly oil a 9x5 loaf pan. Cut a piece of parchment to fit inside the bottom of the pan, leaving about an inch extra of parchment paper to go up the walls of the pan. Set aside.
- Cut your stick of butter into 8 cubes. Add butter and cream to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until butter is completely melted. I would cover the bowl with a paper towel or napkin to prevent any butter explosions in your microwave. Set aside for later use.
- In a medium-size saucepan over medium heat, whisk together corn syrup and water until well combined.
- Gently add your sugar, making sure not to get it on sides of saucepan. Gently whisk the sugar into the corn syrup and water until well combined.
- Bring sugar to a boil. Cover with lid for about 1 minute.
- Remove lid and add your thermometer inside pot making sure it's touching the mixture so you get an accurate temperature.
- Cook sugar for about 10-20 minutes until thermometer reaches 320 degrees F. it will turn a light amber color.
- Carefully pour half of your butter and cream mixture into the pot and use your thermometer to stir it to combine. Add remaining half of butter and cream mixture. Stir until well combined.
- Cook for another 5-10 minutes until temperature reaches 240 or 245 degrees F. Depending on how soft or hard you want your caramels. If you want them soft, cook until it reaches 240 degrees. If you want a more chewy and hard caramel, wait until it reaches 245 degrees.
- Once you have reached your desired temperature, pour caramel into prepared pan. Let cook for about 20-30 minutes before sprinkling salt on top.
- Let cool completely for about 3 1/2 hours before cutting into them and wrapping them, or serving them.
- Enjoy!
Notes
