Salted Caramel

  This is a tough recipe, but the finished product is worth it, I think. I was "commissioned" to make the desserts for a party recently that had a Mexican theme. I do not make Mexican desserts, so I made what I thought would a be a good fit. I thought of caramel, so I made 2 desserts with 2 different caramels. The first was a plain cheesecake (which I will not bore with since I've gone over that a few times) with a penuche (brown sugar "fudge") type caramel. 1 C cream, 1 C brown sugar, cooked on a very low boil (almost simmer, like on low/medium heat) for 15 minutes. Nice, easy, done. The second however, was not simple, but the flavor was amazing. Here's the recipe: (I doubled it)

Salted Caramel Sauce

Yield: 2 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups granulated sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 tablespoon fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt flakes

Directions:

1. First, make sure you have all of the ingredients ready. Once you start the caramel sauce you have to pay close attention so you don't burn it. To begin, heat the sugar over medium high-heat in the bottom of a heavy 2-3 quart saucepan. When the sugar starts to melt, start whisking the sugar. The sugar will clump up, but keep whisking. It will continue to melt. When the sugar is melted, stop whisking. You can swirl the pan to move the sugar around.

2. Continue cooking the sugar until it reaches a deep amber color. Make sure you watch the pan very closely. This is where it is easy to burn the caramel. You want the caramel to reach 350 degrees F. If you are new to making caramel, I suggest using a thermometer.

3. As soon as the sugar reaches the dark amber color, carefully add the butter. Whisk until butter is melted. If the sugar gets stuck to the whisk, you can switch to a wooden spoon.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the heavy cream. Whisk until cream is incorporated and caramel is smooth. Whisk in the fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt flakes.

5. Let the caramel sauce cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Pour the caramel into a large jar and cool to room temperature. Put the salted caramel sauce in the refrigerator. Store the salted caramel sauce in the refrigerator for about a month.

I took 1 C of this sauce and baked it into brownies (recipe later), then served them with whipped cream, salted caramel sauce, and a tiny sprinkle of Maldon sea salt flakes. Proof in pics:

Everything ready to make caramel

Finished

Plated

and again...

On a fun fact note, if you use a thermometer, and it happens to be digital, make sure it's on F and not C...yes, I speak from personal experience. The first batch I made I decided to use my trusty digital thermometer. It seemed to be taking forever to get up to 350° and it burnt to crisp at like 195°...I was baffled, then I realized I had somehow pressed the F to C button...nice. Since I never use C, it never even crossed my mind. Anyway, this is a great deal of work, and you must constantly watch the sugar, but in the end it makes a very nice sauce. 

Original recipe from: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/salted-caramel-sauce/

Buon Appetito!