Probably my mother's and my proudest moment of Christmas baking was succeeding in making caramel and salted caramel. We got the recipe here.
The recipe is as follows:
Vegetable oil
1½ cups sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon fine fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling (we used sea salt instead)
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Line an 8"x8" pan with parchment paper and brush on oil.
Combine the water, sugar, corn syrup, and unsalted butter.
In a deep pot, heat the mixture on medium-high.
Boil the mixture until it turns to a golden brown and swirl it, don't stir. While you are waiting, start the next step.
In a separate, smaller pot, combine the cream, butter, and 1 tbsp fleur de sel (or sea salt). Simmer over medium heat, then set aside.
When the sugar mixture has turned golden brown, pour the cream mixture into it carefully (it will bubble up). Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon.
Boil for about ten minutes, or until it has reached 248 degrees (firm ball) measured on a candy thermometer.
Pour the mixture into the lined 8"x8" pan.
Sprinkle fleur de sel or sea salt on top (we only did half because my mother isn't a fan of salted caramel).
Refrigerate overnight then let sit at room temperature to facilitate easier cutting.
Yum!
