This recipe for caramels is buttery soft and chewy and topped with a sprinkle of sea salt. Caramels are one of the easiest candies you can make at home in under 30 minutes with just 4 ingredients.
Caramels were one of the recipes that I learned how to properly make in my first year of pastry school. I will share with you how to avoid getting crystals in your caramels and how to prevent the caramels from burning before you even pour them from the pan.
This recipe for caramels is a perfect gift to give during the holiday season. You can also give a jar of mulling spices that are just like what you can buy at William Sonoma.
I would like you to read the recipe through in its entirety before starting to cook the sugar to make the caramel. Boiling sugar can get away from you faster than you think. I want you to be prepared for the next step so you have caramel-making success.
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🥫 Ingredients needed:
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
📝 Ingredient notes:
- Sugar - white granular sugar
- Heavy whipping cream - check the fat content, the higher the better!
- Butter - I use salted butter in this recipe. Other recipes call for unsalted butter but I prefer salted for when I make salted caramels.
- Corn Syrup - use light corn syrup. This will help minimize the crystallization of your caramel
🥣 Helpful Kitchen Tools
- Candy thermometer - I use a ThermPro thermometor but a traditional candy thermometer can be used.
- Silicone basting brush - used when washing down the sides of the pan from sugar crystals.
- Parchment paper - used to line the pan and to wrap the cut caramels. DO NOT use wax paper. You will not be happy.
🔪 How to make caramels
- Pepare the pan. Lightly brush the bottom of a 7.5" x 6" or loaf pan with a few drops of olive oil or melted butter. Press a piece of parchment paper into to pan, pressing the paper into the corners of the pan. The oil or butter will help keep the paper in place.
- Prepare a water bath - fill a clean sink with a few inches of water. This will be used to shock the caramel in later steps.
- Melt the butter - in a microwave safe cup or bowl melt the butter and heat the heavy whipping cream for 1 minute. The warming of the butter and cream will help lessen the temperature extreme when the mixture is poured into the hot sugars.
- Cook the sugar - in a heavy bottom pan combine the water and corn syrup. Gently pour the sugar into the pan, keeping the sugar as close to the water as possible as not to allow the sugar to splash on the side of the pan.
- Add the thermometer - add the thermometor to the pan and bring the sugar to a boil. As the sugar starts to boil either cover with a lid for 1 minute allowing the steam/moisture to fall back into the pan OR using the silicone pastry brush wipe water on the sides of the pan to disolve any sugar crystals. The sugar will start to take on a lovely caramel color around the edges. Boil until the thermometer reached 340 F.
- Add the cream and butter - AS SOON as the thermoemter reaches 340 cut the heat off and SLOWLY pour in the heated heavy cream and butter mixture, gently whisking or stirring constantly. Be CAREFUL because there will be foaming of the hot sugar. Continue to SLOWLY pour the heated whipping cream and butter in a slow steady stream or pour the liquid into the pan in about 6 portions.
- Continue to cook - Turn the heat back on to medium heat and continually stir the caramel until it reaches a temperature of 245 degrees. This will give you a soft caramel that pulls a string when you take a bite. I like to continue to heat the caramel to 250. It takes on a lovely warm caramel color and is still soft but less sticky and fluid when eaten.
- Shock - this is something I learned in culinary school. The heat of the pan will continue to cook the sugar even after the heat is turned off. As soon you have reached your desired temperature or 245 or 250, emmeidately plunge the bottom of the pan into the prepared water bath. Just 5 seconds is needed. This will help stop the cooking process.
- Pour - imediately pour the caramel into the prepared pan. Allow the pan to cool for 30 minutes at room temparature on a flat surface. Then place the caramels in the refirdgerator fo 3-4 hours or until cool to the touch. I prefer to allow them to cool over night.
- Cut & Wrap - turn the slab on caramels out on a clean surface and using a ruler, mark out one inch lines. Using a sharp long knife, press the knife into the caramels, cutting them into squares. Wrap in pieces of waxed paper.
- Salted Caramel - Sprinkle sea salt or another course flake salt over the caramels.
❄️ Storage Tips
Store cut unwrapped caramels on a closed serving dish in a single layer without the edges touching. Wrapped caramels can be stored at room temperature in their wax paper.
The higher the humidity, the stickier the caramels will be.
🧼 Clean up tip
Don't worry about scrubbing the sticky caramel out of the pan. Just add enough water to the pan to cover the caramel residue and bring the pan of water to a rolling boil. The sugars in the caramel will easily dissolve when the water boils making for easy clean-up. The thermometer can be cleaned at the same time.
📝 Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:
If you have a granular caramel after it is cooled you probably had a grain of sugar or a piece of crystalized sugar drop back into the pan. Crystals will lead to more sugar crystals.
The key to preventing caramels from crystalizing is to prevent crystals in the first place. carefully pour the sugar into the pan, making sure that sugar doesn't cling to the side of the pan. Using a silicone brush dipped in water, wash down the sides of the pan allowing the sugars to dissolve back into the pan.
Another option would be to place a lid on the pan when the sugar first starts to boil. Allow the moisture to collect for one minute, and fall back into the pan. This should help dissolve any crystals that have formed on the edge.
👩🍳 Chef Tip
I like to melt some chocolate and spread it in a thin layer on the back of the slab of caramel before cutting them into bite-sized pieces. Be sure the chocolate has set up completely before turning over and cutting.
Soft, Salted Caramels
There is more to a recipe than just the recipe card. Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
HELPFUL KITCHEN TOOLS
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pepare the pan. Lightly brush the bottom of a 7.5" x 6" or loaf pan with a few drops of olive oil or melted butter. Press a piece of parchment paper into to pan, pressing the paper into the corners of the pan. The oil or butter will help keep the paper in place.
- Prepare a water bath - fill a clean sink with a few inches of water. This will be used to shock the caramel in later steps.
- Melt the butter - in a microwave safe cup or bowl melt the butter and heat the heavy whipping cream for 1 minute. The warming of the butter and cream will help lessen the temperature extreme when the mixture is poured into the hot sugars.½ cup butter, ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- Cook the sugar - in a heavy bottom pan combine the water and corn syrup. Gently pour the sugar into the pan, keeping the sugar as close to the water as possible as not to allow the sugar to splash on the side of the pan.2 tablespoons water, 1 cup sugar, ¼ cup corn syrup
- Add the thermometer - add the thermometor to the pan and bring the sugar to a boil. As the sugar starts to boil either cover with a lid for 1 minute allowing the steam/moisture to fall back into the pan OR using the silicone pastry brush wipe water on the sides of the pan to disolve any sugar crystals. The sugar will start to take on a lovely caramel color around the edges. Boil until the thermometer reached 340 F.
- Add the cream and butter - AS SOON as the thermoemter reaches 340 cut the heat off and SLOWLY pour in the heated heavy cream and butter mixture, gently whisking or stirring constantly. Be CAREFUL because there will be foaming of the hot sugar. Continue to SLOWLY pour the heated whipping cream and butter in a slow steady stream or pour the liquid into the pan in about 6 portions.
- Continue to cook - Turn the heat back on to medium heat and continually stir the caramel until it reaches a temperature of 245 degrees. This will give you a soft caramel that pulls a string when you take a bite. I like to continue to heat the caramel to 250. It takes on a lovely warm caramel color and is still soft but less sticky and fluid when eaten.
- Shock - this is something I learned in culinary school. The heat of the pan will continue to cook the sugar even after the heat is turned off. As soon you have reached your desired temperature or 245 or 250, emmeidately plunge the bottom of the pan into the prepared water bath. Just 5 seconds is needed. This will help stop the cooking process.
- Pour - imediately pour the caramel into the prepared pan. Allow the pan to cool for 30 minutes at room temparature on a flat surface. Then place the caramels in the refirdgerator fo 3-4 hours or until cool to the touch. I prefer to allow them to cool over night.
- Cut & Wrap - turn the slab on caramels out on a clean surface and using a ruler, mark out one inch lines. Sprinkle sea salt or another course flake salt over the caramels. Using a sharp long knife, press the knife into the caramels, cutting them into squares. Wrap in pieces of waxed paper.1 teaspoon sea salt
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclosure
Nutritional facts are estimates and are provided as a courtesy to the reader. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. Nutritional values are calculated via a third party. Changing ingredients, amounts or cooking technique will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
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👩🏻🍳 Sarah Mock
CEO/Owner/Founder/Culinary Blogger
Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 14 years Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.
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