Caramel at home; recipe

Caramel at home - recipe

Sweet sticky caramel is a familiar taste of youth. The sweetness is good as a stand-alone dessert for tea. It is also used in the production of nougat, kozinaki, and sweets. It is added to cakes and creams. In this article we will tell you how to make caramel from goods that are always at hand. At first glance, an ordinary dessert requires strict adherence to manufacturing rules.

The main subtleties or how to make caramel from sugar and not spoil the taste.

The dishes must have a thick bottom; a metal frying pan is perfect.
Sugar must be of the highest quality: white and untainted.
To prevent the syrup from becoming sugary, it must be acidified - with citric acid or table vinegar.

How to make sticky caramel from sugar at home.

sugar – 100 gr.;
milk – 50 g;
butter – 25 gr.;
vanillin – 1 pinch;
salt – 1 pinch.

Pour the sugar into a container and place on low heat. It should be heated starting from the lowest temperatures, reaching medium temperatures.
At the first sign of sugar melting, start stirring with a wooden or silicone spatula. Continue stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved and turns golden brown. But don’t overcook, otherwise a burnt taste will appear.
Remove the pan from the heat onto a heatproof rack. Pour milk evenly into the still hot melted sugar, stirring constantly. Be careful - the caramel will begin to foam and splatter. It is not allowed to pour out all the milk at once, otherwise the product will curl into a lump.
Return the dishes to the stove and stir until completely dissolved. Do not bring to a boil, otherwise the caramel will curl into flakes. At the end add vanillin and salt.
Turn off the heat and add butter. Stir until smooth. Caramel must be poured immediately after production into a container for storage.

The thickness of the finished product can be changed by varying the amount of milk and sugar. So, if you take two parts sugar and one part milk, the caramel will turn out dense and viscous. In one to one proportions, the caramel turns out to be the most watery.

To prepare hard caramel at home, you should exclude the addition of milk and butter from the process. The molds in which the caramel candies will harden must be greased with vegetable oil. Now you understand how to quickly make caramel at home. The process of making delicious sweets will be fascinating for both adults and children.

Homemade caramel

Sugar – 225 g
Water – 60 g
Cream 33-35% – 150 g
Butter – 70 g
Large sea salt

I have written more than once about how much I love caramel and everything caramel! When I first learned how to cook it, I tried to use it everywhere: as the inside of cupcakes, as a layer for a cake, in dough and creams. I even mastered caramel frosting! I just haven’t gotten around to making caramel decorations yet, and so far it seems that it’s quite difficult. And quite often I make caramel just like that: when I want something sweet, but at the same time I don’t want to or don’t have time to bother with something long, labor-intensive and multi-ingredient. Therefore, at the moment I will tell and show how to make homemade caramel using the most common and fast method, practically without dancing with a tambourine over a ladle.

As you know, caramel can be prepared using “dry” and “wet” methods. In the first case, you just need to melt the sugar in a thick-bottomed saucepan or frying pan, and then stop the caramelization process with hot cream, stir and add butter. In the 2nd stage, sugar melts together with water, and then everything is the same: cream, butter, and, if you like, salt. May the great masters of confectionery art forgive me for all these simplifications; I write as I understand it myself, and based on my own experience. The first method, in my opinion, is by far the longest, so it’s not allowed to immediately dump out all the sugar and wait for it to melt: the sugar at the bottom will burn while the top one catches up with it, and the finished caramel will turn out to be bitter. You need to add sugar one teaspoon at a time, carefully swirl the pan, moving the caramel mass. But if I need a little caramel (no more than 100 g of sugar), I use this method. It’s not bad because crystallization occurs less frequently (when the finished product seems to be candied, and microscopic sugar crystals are felt in it, it looks like you’re eating caramel with sweet powder). But if I need a lot of caramel (for the inside of cakes, for example), I make it with water. It’s much faster this way and you don’t have to work magic on the saucepan. Moreover, in fact, the only rule so that the caramel does not turn into grains is not to stir the sugar while it is on the stove, do not touch it at all! And everything will work out!

Take a saucepan with a thick bottom (or better yet, the walls should be thick). Pour 225 g of sugar into it, pour 60 g of water.

Place over medium heat, bring to a boil and the sugar is completely dissolved. There will be huge bubbles and the water will become clear. Do not interfere under any circumstances, otherwise the sugar will immediately crystallize!

Increase the heat, leaving the contents of the saucepan as before. If you see small crystals of sugar that have fallen on the walls, take a brush, moisten it with water and very carefully, without touching the future caramel, remove them. It is because of these dangerous crystals that the caramel may turn out “with grains”: once they get into the finished product, they will cause crystallization.

Cook the caramel until it has a rich amber color. For me, it first gets dark at the edges and after another minute - in the middle. Do not over-expose it - very dark caramel is bitter. I like it lighter.

While the caramel is cooking, you need to heat the cream. For homemade caramel, we use high-fat cream (33-35%). Their quantity can be different: the more cream, the more watery the finished product will be. My version for a given amount of sugar and water is 150 g. This way I get a fluid consistency that sets in the refrigerator, but when bitten, it doesn’t stretch much. If you put up to 100 g, and later add nuts and put them in the refrigerator, you will get a real sorbet! :) So, the caramel has reached the right color, remove it from the stove. And immediately pour in very warm cream.

Carefully! The mass will boil very quickly, and if the saucepan is low, it may even overflow, keep this in mind!

Stir with a silicone spatula.

Add 70 g of good, tasty butter.

Mix thoroughly. Cool to room temperature and, if desired, add 1-2 pinches of large sea salt. Mix.

Our caramel is ready! Pour it into a glass jar. Store in the refrigerator. There it will thicken, don’t be alarmed, just heat it a little in the microwave or in a water bath.

This caramel, as I already said, can be added to cream, to dough, you can fill cupcakes with it, and you can also create a layer from it in a mousse cake if you add gelatin. You can even pour it over the finished cake, like icing, although in this case I would play it safe and add a little gelatin.

And a few more words about crystallization. To be honest, I don’t see this as a task on a universal scale; several times I myself have sugared the caramel according to this recipe a little, but it was still perfectly eaten; in dough, for example, it’s not at all tangible. Unless, of course, you are preparing a cake for an exhibition, but for yourself and your own family. However, it is least clear that it does not have to crystallize properly, and if this happens to you all the time, and you do everything correctly: you have a good saucepan with a thick bottom and walls, you do not interfere or disturb the sugar in any way on the stove, look for the crystals on the walls and carefully remove them with a damp brush, then either change the recipe, cook “dry”, or try a different brand of sugar, they say, the insufficient degree of its purification can also affect the properties of the finished caramel.

According to Andrey Rudkov's recipe with my additions.

Caramel: how to create caramel at home

Another basic ingredient in the confectioner’s arsenal, which has a special place in the classification of sweets, is caramel. This product can be found in different forms in different formulations, however, the basis for their production is the process of melting sugar.

Invented several centuries ago, the dessert component has a rich history. Consonant with the Latin word “cannamella”, which is common to our ears, practically translates as “sweet reed”.

A similar caramel product in Old India was obtained from fire-roasted cane stalks. The base ingredient - sugar - was valued quite highly in the Middle Ages and was available only to poor people.

Large-scale production of the product in a number of countries - France, England, America, which consider themselves the founders of caramel practice, began in the 14th - 16th centuries. The favorite caramel sweet of the French and Russians were candy figures on sticks.

In the XVIII century. The era of sugar caramel began in Great Britain. Based on lollipops and pharmaceutical herbs, a German pharmacist made medicinal sweets that replaced bitter mixtures.

At the dawn of the caramel industry, sugar dissolved in water was melted over open fires in copper cauldrons. Manual temperature measurements served as an indicator of the readiness of the caramel mass for pouring into molds.

Types of caramel

The presence of a sweet substance in the composition describes the type of caramel, which can be made from sucrose, glucose, or maltose.

Based on the taste properties, the delicacy can be liqueur, chocolate, berry or fruit. They make healing caramels and lollipops with added vitamins.

The mixture distinguishes between hard and soft caramel and sauce based on the ingredient. Below is a little more detail about each of the conditions.

Hard caramel

This type, also called pouring, is used for making sweets and lollipops, monpensiers. They cannot do without this ingredient when developing grilled meats.

When hardened, the candy caramel becomes glass-like in its finished state. Working with caramel requires extraordinary skill: if the composition hardens (and this happens very quickly), refinement is no longer possible.

It is easy to make “cockerels” and “rabbits” on sticks from pouring caramel at home, having the proper shapes. You can bring your guests into ecstasy by covering pieces of fruit and berries with caramel.

By adding nuts to the mixture and passing it through a blender, you get praline, which is appropriate in recipes for cakes or creams. The pouring composition is applicable in the manufacture of caramel decor for decorating confectionery products.

And this is how caramel candies with a pattern on the cut are made:

Soft caramel

By changing the proportions of the components that make up the mass, a plastic caramel is obtained, from which you can sculpt different shapes without burning your fingers when the composition cools.

Multi-colored soft satin caramel is made using food coloring. The ingredient is added to cakes and pastries; it can serve as a food additive. If the recipe contains cream, you get toffee caramels.

The production of caramel of this variety on an industrial scale involves the use of insides with a humidity of 32-35%. The softness of the mixture is maintained due to the penetration of water into the caramel mass during storage of sweets.

Soft caramel is a good option for a layer for a cake. In terms of fluidity, the French season croissants, toast, and pancakes with a composition close to honey.

Caramel sauce

An amber product with a rich sweet caramel taste belongs to the group of dessert sauces. Freshly prepared watery caramel is similar in fluidity to condensed milk, and when in the refrigerator, it acquires the thickness of boiled condensed milk.

It is a good addition to ice cream desserts, pies and buns. A couple of spoons of caramel sauce can transform yogurt into an unusual delicacy. Oatmeal seasoned with it becomes an immediately tasty and healthy dish.

How to make caramel?

Hard caramel recipe

Making caramel at home is not so difficult, and even a child can make simple candies.

We bring to your attention a recipe for homemade caramel, according to which you should stock up on 250 g of sugar, vanilla sugar or powder in the amount of 1 tablespoon, a third glass of brandy or cognac. A few drops of mint oil and lemon juice will come in handy.

Melt the sweet sand in a saucepan over moderate heat, add vanilla sugar and add cognac. Stirring continuously, keep on the stove for about a minute. After removing from heat, add mint oil and lemon juice to the mixture and stir.

We pour the hot syrup into molds, having previously greased them with oil for the best extraction of the finished caramels, provide each portion with a stick (you can use toothpicks) and send it to the cold to harden. Homemade sugar caramel is ready!

Soft caramel recipe

How to create caramel from a soft sugar mixture? Please be patient and have a set of ingredients:

200 g sugar;
1 g vanillin;
a pinch of salt;
50 g butter;
100 g milk.

Over medium heat, melt the sugar in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Be sure to stir constantly, not allowing the mixture to burn. Set the container with melted sweet sand aside and add milk in small portions, without stopping stirring.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, without bringing it to a boil. During cooking, add vanilla and salt, stir.

After removing the pan from the heat, add the oil and make the mass homogeneous. Soft caramel is ready to eat. Be careful because the product is hot.

Caramel Sauce Recipe

How to create caramel is already clear to you. Now we present to your attention the recipe for caramel sauce.

To make sweets you will need 250 g of sweet sand, 70 g of water. Combine the ingredients and cook over low heat until the mass acquires an amber color.

Bring 220 g to a boil and add to the sugar-water mixture. After mixing until smooth, remove from heat and season with butter (50 g).

It is appropriate to serve cupcakes, strudels, and biscuits with warm caramel sauce, and after cooling it, add a unique taste to ice cream desserts.

And the following video will tell you how to prepare delicious salted caramel:

Caramel lamp: abilities and advantages

The device is a tool that allows you to maintain a temperature suitable for preserving the elasticity of confectionery caramel for the required period of time, warming the composition moderately over the entire size.

The lamp allows you to work with artistic caramel mass to realize the most sophisticated ideas in the form of decor for cakes and other baked goods.

One of the commercially available accessories that can be retrofitted with the unit is a confectionery alcohol lamp. A protective screen allows you to avoid light scattering.

Typically, the devices have several levels of power adjustment. Latex gloves are a necessary gadget to protect the hands of a pastry chef working with caramel from burns.

High-quality infrared emitter lamps are aimed at heating caramel and the work surface. A caramel lamp is an indispensable item for increasing the convenience and efficiency of a professional pastry chef. The purchase of tools is targeted at significant sizes of processed products.

How to create caramel from sugar at home - recipe

Caramel is a fairly easy dessert to make, besides, the process takes very little time, and caramel, prepared at home using only sugar and water, does not contain chemical additives and will be a good substitute for regular sweets for children and those who do not like unnatural additives in food

Some “before” tips

Before you start making, you need to prepare for the process. Here are a few tips that will make cooking easier and free you from unnecessary hassle:

The container into which you will pour the resulting mixture must be prepared in advance. These can be molds from the store or made independently from foil. Caramel quickly takes shape; not a second is allowed to be lost;
Sweet caramel is prepared in just a couple of minutes, for this reason it is not allowed to be distracted during cooking, otherwise you risk getting a burnt mixture and dishes that will take a long time to wash, instead of a delicious dessert;
It is better to lightly coat the mold into which you will pour the caramel with sunflower oil in advance. It is better to take refined so that there is no additional aroma. This action will allow you to easily remove the caramels from the mold after hardening;
If watery caramel gets on any household item, it should be immediately soaked in warm water. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to wash off the frozen syrup;
To make caramel at home, you need to take sugar of good quality, snow-white color and painstakingly refined;
First, when the consistency is heated, you can slowly stir it with a wooden or silicone spatula, it is better not to use iron ones, but when the caramel begins to harden, you need to stop stirring. Otherwise, it may crystallize;
You can also add lemon juice to the syrup to prevent it from crystallizing. And milk or cream added during the cooking process will add softness to the taste;
If you did not have time to pour the caramel, and it has already frozen, you can carefully reheat it again. But in this case, do not forget to add a little water to the syrup.

And now it’s time to start the cooking process itself.

Regular caramel

Everything is quite simple. You only need 1/2 cup sugar and a couple of tablespoons of water. Gently cook the syrup until golden brown.

Homemade traditional caramel

Let's take the following products:

Milk - 150 ml;
Sugar - 200 gr;
Butter - 25 gr.

Sugar must be melted in a saucepan with thick walls without adding water or other liquids. Over low heat, the sugar will melt into a thick brown mass. Lumps may form, there is nothing terrible in this, they will disperse on their own a little later;
Heat the milk in a separate saucepan. Do not bring to a boil, just warm slightly. Do not remove from the stove yet;
When the sugar has completely melted, carefully pour it into the warm milk, and only now bring the mixture to a boil;
Now add butter. When oil appears in the pan, a lot of foam appears on the surface, which can burn, so you need to be careful with it.

When the entire mixture has reached a uniform consistency, it can be removed from the stove and poured into a container for storage.

3. Soft homemade caramel

This dish can be used as innards for greasing cakes or in rolls and pies, as well as a topping for pancakes, pancakes or toast.

To make dessert we take:

Milk - 200 ml;
Vanillin - 1 g;
Sugar - 100 gr;
Salt - on the tip of a spoon;
Butter - 25 gr.

The sugar is heated in a saucepan made of strong material;
Briefly remove the dishes from the heat to pour in the warm milk;
Stirring gently, return the mixture to the heat;
When the syrup reaches a uniform thickness, remove it;
Now add butter to the mixture. Mix the ingredients again.

The dish is ready and can be stored in a jar for some time.

4. Lollipops

Sugar - 300 gr;
Water - 100 ml;
Vinegar - 1 tsp;
Sunflower oil - grease the molds.

Mix the ingredients and heat until the consistency takes on a warm yellowish tint. The temperature in the pan should be about 160 degrees (take a kitchen thermometer to measure). Once the syrup becomes the right color, reduce the heat to low and leave on the stove for a few more minutes. Then pour the syrup into greased molds and insert the sticks.

Now all you have to do is wait for the caramels to harden.

In all production options, instead of water, you can use compote or fruit drink from jam, juice from all fruits or lemon. This way the caramel will get an even more exciting taste, and you will have the opportunity to experiment with the usual and fun method of making sweets. This dessert can be prepared not only for home, but also perfectly packaged and given as a gift.