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This week is full of caramel deliciousness. I have three different recipes that will stand on their own or combine into one amazing confectionery creation. First on the agenda are simple Fleur de Sel Caramels that will make you weak in the knees.
Although I thoroughly enjoy consuming candy, I can’t make the stuff to save my life. Trust me; I have tried…numerous times. I always end up blaming the thermometer…because it couldn’t possibly me, right? Well numerous specialty thermometers later, candy is still not my forte.
However, when I saw this salted caramels recipe on Annie’s Eats back in December, I thought they appeared simple enough for someone with zero candy making skills like myself. Well, I was right, these buttery caramels are rich, smooth, and insanely tasty. Be careful…these are so incredibly addictive that I’m betting you could easily eat yourself into a caramel coma.
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Vanilla Bean Caramels with Fleur de Sel
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
5 tbsp. unsalted butter
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean pod, split lengthwise and scraped
1¼ tsp. fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling
1½ cups sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup water
Directions:
1. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Lightly butter the parchment.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the cream, butter, vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds, pods, and fleur de sel. Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling the pan occasionally, until the mixture is a light golden caramel color.
4. Remove the vanilla bean pods from the cream mixture and carefully stir the cream mixture into the caramel – the mixture will bubble up, so pour slowly and stir constantly. Continue simmering the mixture until it registers 248˚ F on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from the heat and pour into the prepared pan. Let cool for 30 minutes, then sprinkle lightly with additional fleur de sel. Continue to let sit until completely set and cooled. Cut into 1-inch pieces (a buttered pizza cutter works well). Wrap the individual caramels in small pieces of wax paper, about 4-inch squares.
Notes:
- I stored my caramels in the refrigerator. Leaving them out at room temp made them a little more pliable than I wanted them to be.
- From: Annie’s Eats
All images and text ©Follow Jamie on Instagram. We love to see what you're baking from MBA! Be sure to tag @jamiemba and use the hashtag #mbarecipes!
Your blog has been inspiring me for the past couple years- it just simply beautiful and the recipes are genius! I tried making these caramels but I replaced the vanilla bean for paste. The caramel turned out and tasted wonderful but it became so hard that I couldn’t cut into beautiful squares. Instead I got candy bark like pieces. I let it sit to cool before cutting for about an hour or two- did I wait too long to cut? Thank you!
Jessica-
Thanks so much for the kind words – I am so please to hear that you enjoy the site. If your caramels turned hard, that typically means that mixture was cooked for too long and got too hot. Hope this helps!
-Jamie
Hi Jessica! My friend had this same problem. Though her recipe called for a higher temp than 248, you may have hit that on your candy thermometer but your thermometer could have been off. Just a suggestion. Try boiling some water and using your candy thermometer to see how close to 212 it is. Mine runs low when I tried this test. So I compensate a few degrees when making marshmallows, fudge and caramels.
Do you think i can sub in agave for the corn syrup? or is there a different better sub I can use?
thanks!
margo
Margo-
Thanks for stopping by, I have never made that substitution, so I can’t comment as to if it will work or not.
–Jamie
Does anyone know how long the caramels will keep? I’m considering making these as wedding favours, but would like to make them a month or so ahead of time so that I’m not making and wrapping candies the week before my wedding.
Regan-
These caramels become really pliable when left at room temperature, so I don’t know how well they would keep. Sorry I am not more of a help! Best of luck with your wedding plans and congrats!
-Jamie
Hi –
I got directed to your blog from Ree’s most recent blog post. These caramel squares look absolutely delicious, I have to try them out!! Thanks for sharing!
Chitra
Does anyone know if I can sub in Vanilla Bean Paste for the seeds? Will the caramels still turn out?
I tried to make these last night but my caramel never hardened. Any advice?
Gorgeous! Can’t wait to try these sometime!
These are decadent little treats, that look picture perfect! What a great recipe, these look addictive.
Gorgeous looking Caramels! I tried making these few times but It turned into a caramel sauce instead of the caramels! I will have to try again with your recipe! :)
Caramel is my favorite, can’t wait to give these a try!