Homemade confections are so much fun when you are entertaining. These salted caramels are sinfully easy to make but are really impressive when finished. The garam masala and vanilla bean add depth of flavor, and of course, the salty-sweet combo is delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground garam masala
- ½ cup honey
- 1¼ cups sugar
- Flaky sea salt (Maldon), to finish
How to Make It
- Line a 9" × 5" loaf pan with foil and grease.
- In a medium saucepan, bring up to a boil the heavy cream with butter, vanilla bean, salt, and garam masala. Remove from the heat.
- In a large saucepan, heat honey and sugar over medium-high heat to 280°F. I stir just in the beginning, using a heatproof spatula to combine and then brushing down the sugar on the sides with a wet pastry brush.
- Strain in the heavy cream mixture carefully—it will bubble and spatter a bit (that’s why you want a large saucepan). Continue to cook this mixture until it reaches 250°F.
- Pour into the prepared loaf pan and cool at room temperature for a half hour. Transfer to the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Transfer hardened caramel to a cutting board and sprinkle the top with the Maldon salt. Cut as desired—if it’s been in the fridge longer than 2 hours, you may need to let it come closer to room temperature before you’ll be able to cut them.
- Store the caramels individually wrapped or spaced apart (they tend to stick together!) in an airtight container at room temperature. They should keep for 3 to 4 weeks.
