We're Adam and Joanne from inspiredtaste.net and welcome to our kitchen.
We're making our chocolate covered caramels.
Before making our salted caramels...
we always make sure we have our equipment ready and all ingredients measured out...
here is a loaf pain, we are going to lightly oil it...
then we are going to cut a piece of parchment paper...
lightly oil that...
and then insert that inside the loaf pan...
which makes our lives a lot easier when we want to unmold the caramels when we are done.
Next for the ingredients, we need to measure a half cup...
of heavy whipping cream.
Then grab one stick of butter which is also about a half cup...
and cut that into eight...
equally sized pieces.
Add that to a bowl...
then add the cream...
and place it into the microwave...
and cook for about a minute until the butter has melted and the cream is hot...
set that aside...
and measure out a quarter cup of light corn syrup...
and one cup of granulated white sugar.
Now grab a small saucepan...
add three tablespoons of water to the saucepan...
then grab the corn syrup that you just measured out and add that to the saucepan.
Next for the sugar...
add it, but try your best not to splatter the sugar up the sides of the pan.
Then just use a spoon or spatula...
to stir the sugar into the water and corn syrup.
Heat to medium...
then bring to a boil.
Now once it is at a boil we want to make sure there isn't...
any sugar crystals stuck to the side of the pan...
since this can cause something called crystallization which can make your caramels grainy...
and really ruin the texture.
To help with this, just cover with the lid for about one minute.
Remove the lid and attach a candy thermometer.
You will want to cook the sugar until it reaches 320 degrees F.
At this temperature the sugar will take on a light amber color...
now we are ready to add the butter and cream mixture from before...
add it in small batches then use the candy thermometer to stir it into the sugar mixture.
As you do this the caramel will bubble violently...
so you really want to do this slowly and carefully so nothing bubbles over.
Now place the candy thermometer...
back on the side of the pan...
and cook the caramel to 240 degrees F...
this will create a soft caramel.
If you want harder caramels...
cook to about 245 degrees F.
Now pour the caramel into your prepared loaf pan...
and let it sit for about fifteen to twenty minutes.
While you wait it's best to clean your pot and candy thermometer...
fill the pot with water, place the candy thermometer into the water...
and bring the water to a boil...
this will melt away all of the caramel...
making cleanup really easy.
After about three and a half...
to four hours...
you'll find that the caramel has set...
and we can cut it.
We like to cut into one-inch squares...
but it's up to you.
Next for the chocolate, you need one pound of chocolate.
You can use milk, dark...
or even white chocolate for this...
We like to use semi-sweet.
Give it a chop and add to a microwave safe bowl...
along with two tablespoons of butter...
but reserve about a third cup...
of the chocolate...
to add later.
Add the bowl to the microwave and heat for about forty-five seconds.
After forty-five seconds give it a stir. The chocolate won't be melted yet...
so you will have to put it back in for another forty-five seconds or so.
Again stir...
and continue to do this until the chocolate has melted.
Now grab the third cup of chocolate from earlier and stir that in.
Stir until it is melted and shiny.
Now we can coat the caramels...
add the caramels one-by-one into the chocolate...
then use two forks to pick them up out of the chocolate.
Then place them onto either wax paper or a cooling rack...
then top with salt...
and set them aside to harden and cool. Enjoy!