I made these once on a lark. Then I put them in the store and they sold out in two days (covered in Valrhona chocolate). And then people came back week after week asking for them. Then they started a petition. Then I got carpal tunnel syndrome from cutting so many caramels. So now the caramels are only in the store periodically. I prefer not to dip them in chocolate, but it’s really up to you.
175 g/½ cup golden syrup
100 ml/½ cup water
600 g/3 cups caster/superfine sugar
225 g/2 sticks unsalted butter
450 ml/1¾ cups whipping cream
Maldon sea salt, for sprinkling
sugar thermometer
brownie/baking pan, 30 x 25 x 5 cm/ 12 x 10 x 2 inches, oiled and lined with parchment paper
makes about 50
Put the golden syrup, water and sugar in a large, heavy-based saucepan and stir until well combined. Brush the insides of the saucepan with clean water to dislodge any stray grains of sugar.
Bring to a boil over high heat. When it reaches a boil, add the butter and cream. Let it come to a boil again, reduce the heat to medium–low heat and add a sugar thermometer.
Let the caramel reach 121˚C/250˚F, when it’s near the end of the firm ball stage. If the caramel goes past 121˚C/250˚F you will have something more like toffee. If it is below, you’ll have a caramel-fudgey sauce, but no confectionery. You might like to know that if something goes wrong, both outcomes are great as toppings on cupcakes!
Being very careful, pour the hot sugar syrup into the prepared brownie pan. Let set for 1 minute, than sprinkle sea salt all over the top. Be careful – the pan will be hot for a good while.
Let the caramel set for about 4–5 hours or overnight if it’s a hot day.
Remove the caramel from the pan, peel off the paper and cut into desired shapes.
Tip: salt elevates and heightens the sweetness of these caramels. As there are hundreds of different varieties of salt, you can experiment, from the pink-hued fleur de sel from Brittany, to the finer granules of Cornish sea salt.