(Adapted from Ina Garten)
Ingredients:
- Vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon fine fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
- Prep the pan:
- Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing it to drape over 2 sides, then brush the paper lightly with oil.
- Boil the sugar:
- In a deep saucepan (6 inches wide and 4 1/2 inches deep), combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar and corn syrup and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until the mixture is a warm golden brown. Don't stir -- just swirl the pan.
- Heat the cream:
- In the meantime, in a small pot, bring the cream, butter and 1 teaspoon of fleur de sel to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- Finish the caramel:
- When the sugar mixture is done, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Be careful -- it will bubble up violently.
- Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer.
- Fill the pan:
- Very carefully pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate for a few hours, until firm.
- Cut the caramel:
- When the caramel is cold, pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board. Cut the square in half.
- Roll it up:
- Starting with a long side, roll the caramel up tightly into an 8-inch-long log.
- Cut into pieces:
- Sprinkle the log with fleur de sel, trim the ends and cut into 8 pieces. (Start by cutting the log in half, then continue cutting each piece in half until you have 8 equal pieces.) It's easier to cut the caramels if you brush the knife with flavorless oil like corn oil.
- Wrap the candies:
- Cut glassine or parchment paper into 4-by-5-inch pieces and wrap each caramel individually, twisting the ends.
- Store in the refrigerator and serve the caramels chilled.
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