Piece of life
Well, let me tell you right off the bat that my mood has been a bit down in the last few days. Between the weather, the pandemic and a lot of work… well I guess you already got the spirit. So today I decided to keep it easy, no cooking [anyway we have a lot of leftovers, I don’t want to waste]. And I’m so far behind with my recipes to publish that I’m going to try to move this along. So I’m sitting on my couch with Harry Potter in the background [yes, I’m a big fan] and a warm cup of tea, while writing to you. A cocooning day, I’ll just have to go out later to pick up the kids [but if I play it right, I might even manage to delegate it to my hubby]. And for a perfect cheering up, a bit of sweet would not harm, don’t you think ?
About the caramel recipe
Ooh, that is greedy! A creamy caramel, perfect to pour over pancakes or buns, and even to spread on toast in the morning. I must admit that I simply can’t resist it.
I wanted to share this recipe with you a few weeks ago, after reading a recipe in which the instructions were to use commercial caramel. There is always this option, true. But let’s be honest, a homemade caramel can be prepared in about 5 to 10 minutes, and I guarantee it will be much better.
The secret? Well, let me tell it to you: stay glued to your pan until the caramel has the desired colour. It’s true that you can quickly spoil your caramel if you don’t keep an eye on it, because it can burn [and that’s not good at all]. The other secret : pour the cream WARM, in small fractions [and don’t stay on top because there will be projections, so risk of burns]. And there is actually a third secret : glucose syrup. And it makes a hell of a difference!
Star ingredient : glucose syrup
Glucose syrup is a thick liquid that comes from corn starch. It is largely used in the food industry, especially in the manufacture of candies, caramels, ice cream, etc… It helps to avoid the crystallization of sugar, it also helps in the preservation and gives a smoother texture. To be noted that it has a sweetening power, about half that of sugar. It is easy to find, and not expensive. You can buy it in some specialized stores [I buy mine from La Guilde culinaire] or at BulkBarn.
Is glucose syrup essential ?
Actually, no.
You can do without it and use only sugar but the final texture will be quite different. Watch the video. The first caramel I present is the caramel with sugar only and the second one with glucose. See how the version with glucose is creamier, the other one is way more firm.
Can glucose syrup be replaced ?
You can replace glucose with clear corn syrup or even honey [but be careful with the taste, honey can be quite strong in flavour], however, I personally have never tried it.
Easy caramel sauce
Ingredients
- 140 g sugar
- 60 g glucose syrup
- 160 ml heavy cream 35%
- 60 g butter
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Pour half of the sugar into a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until the sugar melts and starts to colour.
- Add the glucose syrup and mix. Then add the rest of the sugar.
- Cook until all is melted (overlooking to avoid the caramel to burn). At the same time, heat the cream.
- Once the caramel is ready, remove the pan from the heat and pour the hot cream in small quantities while stirring (watch out for hot splashes). If you have small complex pieces in your caramel, put it back on the heat a little to melt them.
- Remove from the heat, add the butter and mix with a hand blender.
- Pour into a jar and leave to cool.
