Liquid caramel is used in many different classic desserts such as caramel panna cotta or cream caramel, it is placed in muffins and decorated with cakes, poured into ice cream, and served with pancakes and cheesecakes. The recipe for this dish is not complicated, but it has a few subtleties.
Simple liquid caramel
The simplest liquid caramel is made with just two ingredients: granulated sugar and water. Initially, you will need two parts sugar for one part liquid. Combine them in one saucepan, put on low heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Then increase the heat to full. Simmer the syrup, stirring, until golden brown. It is most convenient to determine the readiness of liquid caramel by a culinary thermometer, it should show 195 ° C.
Do not leave caramel unattended, it can burn out in a few seconds and you will not be able to get rid of the burnt aftertaste.
After the caramel has changed color, start adding water. Be careful as you may be scalded by the spray. You need to add the same amount of water as you originally added. Whisk the caramel as you add water. As soon as it emulsifies, that is, it begins to represent a single substance, turn off the heat, since the caramel is ready.
Creamy liquid caramel
For a richer creamy caramel, you will need:
- 1 cup of sugar;
- 6 tablespoons of water;
- 4 tablespoons of butter;
- ¼ cup cream, 20% fat.
Some recipes require salted caramel. To do this, you will need to add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the sauce at the initial stage of preparation.
Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until all the sugar is dissolved. An important condition - if there are sugar crystals on the sides of the pan, shake them into caramel with a wet silicone brush so that they do not burn and spoil the taste of the whole dish. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat to maximum. Cook the caramel, stirring occasionally, until it starts to bubble. After 3-4 minutes, when the mixture turns from light amber, the color of homemade boiled condensed milk, reddish brown, add butter and pour in the cream. Whisk the caramel until all ingredients are combined. If the caramel is too runny, do not cook it longer. It will be necessary to make a second batch of the same, reducing the proportions of the liquid by half, and then, at the second stage, combine it with the first.
To flavor the caramel, you cannot add a few drops of alcohol such as rum, cognac, sherry.
The finished caramel should be poured into a vessel and covered with a lid or tightened with cling film. It can be stored for up to two weeks in the refrigerator, taking out 5-10 minutes before use. If the caramel does not become liquid after cooling, heat it up and then add a little water or cream. If you want to boil caramel using homemade heavy cream, do not put butter in it.
