Brown Butter Salted Caramels, Half-Dipped in Dark Chocolate

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Chewy, slow-melting caramels built on browned butter and a deep amber sugar cook, so each square tastes nutty and toasted rather than just sweet. Half of every caramel gets dipped in dark chocolate and finished with flaky salt — the kind of confection that shows up on a fine-dining mignardise plate, made in one heavy saucepan with a candy thermometer.

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 whole vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water

• 8 oz good dark chocolate (60–70%), finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon

Instructions

1. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with two crossed strips of parchment, letting the ends hang over the sides. Lightly butter the parchment. Set the pan on a heatproof surface near the stove.
2. Make the brown butter cream: melt the 6 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling often, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the foam subsides, the milk solids at the bottom turn deep golden brown, and the butter smells nutty. Immediately remove from the heat.
3. Pour in the heavy cream (it will steam and sputter aggressively — stand back and pour slowly). Add the fine sea salt and the scraped vanilla seeds plus the pod. Stir, then set over low heat just to keep the mixture hot, about 150°F. Do not let it boil over.
4. In a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and water until the sugar looks like wet sand. Wipe any stray sugar from the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil without stirring.
5. Cook the syrup, swirling the pan occasionally but never stirring, for 10 to 14 minutes, until it turns a deep amber, the color of iced tea, and reads 320°F on a candy thermometer. Watch closely after 300°F — it darkens fast, and 30 seconds too long turns it bitter.
6. Immediately turn the heat to low and add the hot brown butter cream in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. It will bubble violently and climb the pan; keep whisking until it settles and looks smooth. Fish out and discard the vanilla pod.
7. Clip the thermometer to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring slowly and constantly with a heatproof spatula so the bottom doesn't scorch, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the caramel reaches 248°F for a firm chew (245°F for a softer, stickier caramel).
8. Immediately pour the caramel into the prepared pan without scraping the bottom of the saucepan. Let it settle on its own — don't spread it. Cool at room temperature, undisturbed, for at least 3 hours or until completely firm; overnight is better.
9. Lift the caramel slab out by the parchment onto a cutting board. Cut into 1 x 1 1/4-inch pieces with a large chef's knife or a lightly oiled bench scraper, wiping the blade between cuts. Line up the caramels on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
10. Temper the chocolate quickly by seeding: melt 6 ounces of the chopped chocolate in a dry heatproof bowl in the microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring between each, until it reaches 115°F. Add the remaining 2 ounces and stir steadily until fully melted and the chocolate cools to 88–90°F and looks glossy.
11. Dip each caramel halfway into the chocolate, scrape the bottom against the bowl rim, and set it back on the parchment. Sprinkle the wet chocolate with flaky salt while it's still shiny.
12. Let the chocolate set at cool room temperature (65–70°F) for 30 to 45 minutes — refrigeration will dull it. Wrap each caramel in a 4-inch square of wax paper or cellophane, twisting the ends.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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