Name: Soft Caramels
Ingredients: sugar; dark chocolate; glucose syrup; evaporated milk; heavy cream; bean; vanilla bean; butter; salt

Peter Greweling

Soft Caramels

Using Evaporated Milk

Preparation info

Difficulty
Medium
Yield:
182 Pieces

Appears in

Chocolates and Confections

By Peter Greweling

Published 2007

About

Ingredients

Sugar	680 g	24 oz	30%
Evaporated milk	680 g	24 oz	30%
Heavy cream	280 g	10 oz	13%
Vanilla bean, split and scraped	1 bean	1 bean
Glucose syrup	570 g	20 oz	25%
Butter	40 g	1.5 oz	2%
Salt	1 tsp	1 tsp	<1%
Batch Size	2250 g	79.5 oz	100%
Dark chocolate, melted, tempered, for precoating and dipping	as needed

Method

Combine the sugar, evaporated milk, cream, and vanilla bean and its seeds in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly.
Add the glucose syrup and continue cooking over medium heat, while stirring, until the mixture reaches 110°C/230°F. Add the butter. Cook while stirring until the mixture reaches 115°C/239°F. Add the salt and remove from the heat.
Remove the vanilla bean, and pour the mixture into a frame 12 × 12 × ½ in set on oiled parchment paper. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Remove the frame, and precoat one side of the slab with the tempered dark chocolate. Mark with a 20-mm/⅞-in caramel cutter, then cut, using a sharp, oiled chef’s knife.
Dip the caramels in the tempered dark chocolate. Before the chocolate sets, use a 3-prong dipping fork to make a diagonal wave pattern on the top surface of each piece.

Anise Soft Caramels

Make a slurry of 10 g/0.5 oz of ground anise seed and enough water to moisten it well. Add at the beginning of cooking. Dip the finished caramels in tempered dark chocolate and place several whole toasted anise seeds on top of each piece as the chocolate sets.

Chocolate Soft Caramels

Add 250 g/9 oz of dark chocolate at the beginning of cooking. Dip the finished caramels in tempered dark chocolate and finish with two piped diagonal parallel lines of tempered dark chocolate.

Cinnamon Soft Caramels

Make a slurry of 10 g/0.5 oz of ground cinnamon and water. Add at the beginning of cooking. Dip the finished caramels in tempered dark chocolate and sift a smattering of ground cinnamon on top of each piece as the chocolate begins to set.

Coffee Soft Caramels

Infuse the evaporated milk with 30 g/1 oz of ground coffee prior to making the caramels. Strain the coffee out before adding the other ingredients. Dip the finished caramels in tempered milk chocolate and finish with two piped diagonal parallel lines of tempered dark chocolate.

Rainforest Soft Caramels

Stir in 400 g/14 oz of toasted cashews and 250 g/9 oz of toasted macadamias mixed with 2 tsp of salt at the end of cooking. Spread into a frame 12 × 16 × ½ in set on oiled parchment paper. Dip in chocolate or wrap.

Raspberry Soft Caramels

Add 340 g/12 oz of hot raspberry purée when the temperature of the mixture reaches 112°C/234°F. Dip in tempered dark chocolate and finish with two piped diagonal parallel lines of tempered white chocolate.