Enjoy the sweetness of caramel in its different forms – candies, puddings, cupcakes, or just as a flavoring agent on drab desserts. Caramel is born by reducing sugar and water by the process of caramelizing, and to get this right, the temperature has to be too – 170°C. The sugar breaks down at this temperature to transform into a brilliant golden hue, a trademark of caramel.
The Birth of a Beauty Product
Caramel has been around for more than a millennium, and it wasn't a lavish affair back then like it is today. The Arabs had been having it around 1000 AD and called it “kurat al milh”, which means “sweet ball of salt”. This was made by adding sugar to water and boiling it, thereby crystallizing it, giving a crunchy sweet confection; this has a likeness to the hard caramel candies of today. Strangely this wasn’t made for eating, but rather as a beauty product by the Arabs.
The Dawn of Dessert Making
It was not until the 1800s when additives like milk and cream were added to caramel to enhance its flavor and texture, good enough to be eaten as a confection or transformed into more complicated desserts. By the late 1800s, the Lancaster Caramel Company was started by Milton S. Hershey, who went on to found the widely known Hershey’s brand today. To commemorate this day, how about crafting some of the most classic caramel desserts? Here are a few classic delish dessert recipes to get you started.
1. Caramel Pudding
Ingredients:
- 50 gm granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp room temperature water
- 240 ml milk
- 1 tbsp hot water
- 60 gm granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- In a heavy saucepan, combine 1 tbsp water and 1/4 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook, without stirring, until the sugar is completely moistened.
- Once moistened, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking until the sugar and water form a golden brown caramel syrup, about 5 minutes then remove from heat.
- Stir in 1 tbsp of hot water to thin the caramel (add more hot water if needed).
- In a separate saucepan, whisk together the milk and 5 tablespoons sugar over low heat just until warmed and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.
- Whisk the beaten eggs into the warm milk mixture until fully incorporated.
- Pour the caramel syrup into an 8x8-inch baking dish. Then pour the egg-milk mixture over the caramel.
- Place the baking dish into a larger pan and pour enough water into the outer pan to reach halfway up the sides of the inner baking dish.
- Bake for about 45 minutes, until the custard has set.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before refrigerating. Chill completely before serving.
2. Caramel Cookies
Ingredients:
- 115 gm salted butter softened
- 100 g white sugar
- 110 g light brown sugar
- 5 ml pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 200 gm all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 150 gm of soft caramel candies (cut into small pieces)
- 120 gm chocolate chips
- Sea salt for garnish
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, line two large baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl beat the butter, white sugar and brown sugar, using a hand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy – about 1 minute.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until just combined.
- Add the caramel candies and chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed through the dough.
- Using a 1 1/2 tbsp cookie scoop, portion out dough balls and place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets, about 8 per sheet.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes, until the tops are just set and barely starting to turn light golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5-10 minutes.
- After 5-10 minutes, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.