Homemade caramels - fudge - caramel sauce for ice cream

Cream caramels © kvalifood.com

The best thing about homemade cream caramels, besides the taste, is that you can make them soft enough that they won’t pull out fillings. Caramel sauce is also surprisingly popular on ice cream. I actually thought only kids would want it — until the day I served it to the whole family. This recipe works for both.

Ingredients

  • 250 g sugar
  • 2 1/2 dl heavy cream
  • 1 vanilla pod (optional)
  • 25 g butter
  • 1 pinch of salt

Method for caramels

Melt the sugar in a saucepan and let it turn golden. The darker it gets, the stronger the flavour. You can melt only half the sugar first and add the rest after the cream — this gives a milder flavour.

Add the butter and stir it well into the caramel.

Pour in the cream slowly so the sugar doesn’t seize.

Let it cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the vanilla and salt.

Cook until the bubbles start to hold together and the mixture becomes noticeably thick and porridge-like in consistency.

If you have a candy thermometer, use it. At 255°F (125°C) the caramels will be soft and fudge-like; at 265°F (130°C) they will be fairly firm. I prefer the soft ones — they’re also easier to cut at the end.

Pour the mixture onto an oiled tray or mould where it can cool down.

It should be cold enough that you can cut them without the caramels sticking back together immediately. But if you wait too long they become too hard.

Cut into squares of caramel size.

If they stick too much, you can dust them with a little powdered sugar.

Method for caramel sauce

Melt half the sugar and let it turn golden.

Add the butter and stir it into the caramel.

Add the cream a little at a time so the caramel doesn’t seize.

Pour in the remaining half of the sugar and stir until it melts.

It is done as soon as the sugar has dissolved.

If it’s too thick, add a little more cream; if it’s too thin, cook it a little longer.

If you have leftovers, you can just cook them down the next day into caramels.