Fleur de Sel and Smoked Salt Caramels
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup agave syrup or invert sugar (see sidebar)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 three-finger pinches fleur de sel
- 2 three-finger pinches smoked salt, such as Halen Mon oak smoked
- Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper or foil and spray with oil; set aside.
- Bring the cream and butter to a simmer in a small saucepan; remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a medium-sized heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat the sugar, agave syrup, and water, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Boil, gently swirling the pan, until the sugar turns a dark golden color (350F on a candy thermometer).
- Carefully stir in the cream mixture (the mixture will bubble vigorously) and boil, stirring often, until the liquid reaches 248F, about 12 minutes.
- At that point, a drop of the mixture dribbled into a glass of cold water will form a ball that will be firm enough to lift up but flexible enough to flatten between your fingers (soft-ball stage).
- Remove the sugar from the heat and quickly stir in the fleur de sel.
- Immediately pour into the prepared baking pan.
- Sprinkle with the smoked salt.
- Allow to cool at room temperature until firm, about 1 1/2 hours more.
- Invert onto a cutting board and peel off the paper.
- Cut into 1-inch squares and wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper or cellophane, twisting the ends to close.
- If you cant find agave syrup, you can use invert sugar instead.
- Its very easy to make, and assures your caramel will come out smooth and silky.
- Mix 3 cups granulated sugar, 1 1/2 cups water, and the juice of 1/2 lemon in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- The resulting invert sugar liquid can be stored indefinitely in a small plastic container.
heavy cream, unsalted butter, sugar, syrup, water, threefinger, threefinger
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/fleur-de-sel-and-smoked-salt-caramels-382471 (may not work)