Soft Chewy Fleur de Sel Caramels

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Deep amber, slow-chewing caramels with a clean dairy sweetness and crackle of flaky salt — the kind that come wrapped in little wax paper twists at a confectioner's counter. The method is straightforward: cook a dry-ish sugar syrup to a real amber, stream in hot salted cream, then take it to a precise 248°F for a caramel that's soft enough to bite but never sticks to your teeth. One candy thermometer and 45 minutes of active work gets you about 64 pieces.

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1 teaspoon fleur de sel or flaky sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

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

• 1 teaspoon neutral oil, for the pan and knife
• 3/4 teaspoon fleur de sel, for sprinkling
• 64 pieces wax paper squares, about 4 by 4 inches

Instructions

1. Line an 8-inch square metal baking pan with two crossed strips of parchment paper, leaving overhang on all four sides. Brush the parchment lightly with neutral oil. Set the pan on a wire rack near the stove.
2. Combine the heavy cream, cubed butter, 1 teaspoon fleur de sel, and kosher salt in a small saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat, swirling, just until the butter melts and the cream steams and reaches about 150°F, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover, and leave it on the back of the stove — it must be hot when it goes into the caramel.
3. In a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan with a light-colored interior (stainless steel, not black nonstick — you need to judge color), stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and water until the sugar looks like wet sand. Wipe any stray sugar crystals off the sides of the pan with a wet fingertip.
4. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil without stirring. Once boiling, clip on a candy thermometer and let it cook undisturbed, 6 to 9 minutes, until the syrup reaches 300°F. Do not stir; if crystals form on the sides, brush them down with a wet pastry brush.
5. Continue cooking, now watching closely, until the syrup turns the color of an old copper penny and reads 330 to 335°F, another 2 to 4 minutes. Swirl the pan gently once or twice for even color. The moment it hits that shade, move to the next step — sugar goes from amber to burnt in about 20 seconds.
6. Turn the heat to low and pour in the hot cream mixture in a slow, steady stream while whisking constantly. It will boil up violently and roughly triple in volume, so keep your hand and face clear. Whisk until smooth.
7. Raise the heat to medium and cook, stirring slowly and constantly with a heatproof spatula and scraping the corners, until the caramel reaches exactly 248°F, 10 to 14 minutes. Keep the thermometer tip off the pan bottom. For firmer caramels go to 250°F; for very soft, spoonable-cool caramels stop at 245°F.
8. Immediately remove from the heat, wait 30 seconds for the bubbling to subside, then stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the caramel into the prepared pan without scraping the very bottom of the saucepan (scraped-up scorched bits make grainy candy). Tilt the pan to level the surface.
9. Let sit 15 minutes, until a skin forms and the surface no longer ripples, then sprinkle evenly with the 3/4 teaspoon fleur de sel. Cure at cool room temperature, uncovered, for at least 4 hours or overnight — do not refrigerate, which makes the caramels sweat.
10. Lift the slab out by the parchment onto a cutting board. Oil a large chef's knife or a bench scraper and cut the slab into 8 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 8 pieces, re-oiling and wiping the blade as needed. For clean edges, press straight down rather than sawing.
11. Wrap each caramel in a wax paper square, twisting the ends. Store in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 3 weeks.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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