Fleur De Sel CaramelsPrint Recipe

Christmas is almost upon us and it has me thinking about homemade gifts, which I am sure you agree are the nicest by far. I have been making gifts on and off for the last 30 years a very long time. From chocolates, to shortbread and even preserves (jam).

Mentioning preserves brings back memories of a Christmas long ago. A holiday season when I was hell bent on making strawberry and cointreau preserves as a gift for some colleagues and friends. I had allocated one night to do this and after a long day at work I set myself up in the kitchen full of enthusiasm. I had my jars, my ribbon, my hand drawn labels and the very best of ingredients – I was ready to go.

My excitement was shortlived when I discovered my jam did not set and it was a horrible murky red colour instead of the rich, ruby red I was hoping for, I was devesated. Instead of admiting defeat, I became a little crafty and the very next day purchased some good quality jam, mixed it around with a splash of cointreau and packaged it all up. No one knew and no one was any the wiser – aside from me who felt terrible especially when they were so well recieved. The shame, oh the shame. I wanted to crawl under a rock. This terrible feeling was not outweighed by people’s pleasure – in fact it made it even worse and I vowed never to do it again.

So back to my home made gifts, here are some caramels – and yes, I promise you they are mine. They are without a doubt the best I have ever made – not too hard & not too chewy, creamy and sweet with a slight fleur de sel taste. If you like you can dip them in chocolate and sprinkle a little fleur del sel on top.

They can be packaged in the prettiest of ways, from cellophane bags through to tins and jars, with ribbon – lots of ribbon. Your gifts will bring joy and you will feel wonderful having gone to the all the effort you have, bringing a little happiness to those you care for – which is what Christmas is all about.

1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon fleur de sel*
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with slightly oiled parchment paper.

Bring cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.

Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a heavy based saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.

Carefully stir in cream mixture and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the stove immediately and pour into baking pan to cool for 1 hour. With an oiled knife,  cut into 1-inch pieces (or smaller if you desire), then wrap each piece in a square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.

Notes: At the final boiling stage it took me around 25 minutes to reach the 248f. So do not be concerned if it does take longer than 15 mins.

Source: adapted from Gourmet 2004

© 2010, Michelle. All rights reserved.