Salted Caramel

 Ingredients

  * 1/2 cup sugar  * 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  * 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  * 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
  * 1 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling (sea salt)
  * 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


  Directions

Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan (or loaf pan with parchment paper, then brush the paper lightly with oil, allowing the paper to drape over 2 sides.

In a deep saucepan (6 inches diameter by 4 1/2 inches deep) combine the sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil until the caramel is a warm golden brown color (this color will be sweet/caramelly, this will be sweet with a bit of a coffee flavor, I wouldn't go darker than this, my caramels I made before were a bit too dark). Don't stir - just swirl the pan to mix. Watch carefully, as it will burn quickly at the end!

In the meantime, bring the cream , butter, and 1 teaspoon fleur de sel (sea salt) to a simmer in a small pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat, set aside and keep warm.

When the caramelized sugar is the right color, slowly add the cream mixture to the caramel - it will boil up violently. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer. Very carefully (it's hot!) pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate until firm (approximately 2-3 hrs).

When the caramels are cool, use the parchment paper to pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board. Starting at 1 end, roll the caramel up tightly until you've rolled up half of the sheet. Cut the sheet across and then roll the second half tightly. You will have 2 (1 by 8-inch) logs. Sprinkle both logs lightly with fleur de sel, cut each log in 8 pieces. Cut parchment papers in 6 by 4 1/2-inch squares and wrap each caramel in a paper, twisting the ends. Store in the refrigerator or at room temperature.