1881: Chocolate Caramels－French78部落格

Just read a classic recipe for your reference as follows:

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1881: Chocolate Caramels
This recipe appeared in The Times in an 1881 article titled “Receipts.” The recipe was signed “Fanny.”

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the baking dish

41/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 cup whole milk

1 cup molasses

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Softened butter, for cutting the caramels.

1. Butter an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of a medium, heavy saucepan. Combine the butter, chocolate, milk, molasses and sugar in the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees on the thermometer. Do this slowly, scraping the bottom of the pan with a silicon spatula (or a wooden spoon) so the mixture doesn’t stick and burn.

2. Wearing an oven mitt, remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla to the hot mixture. Give it a quick stir, then pour the mixture into the buttered baking dish.

3. As soon as the caramel is cool enough to handle, transfer it to a cutting board and use a buttered chef’s knife (or scissors) to cut the caramel into ¾-inch-wide strips, and then crosswise into ¾-inch pieces.

4. When the caramels are completely cool, wrap them individually in wax paper, or layer in parchment paper in an airtight container. Store in a cool, dry place for up to 1 month. Makes about 100 pieces.

BACK STORY: In 1881, when this recipe ran in The Times, chocolate was a more unusual ingredient than the molasses that sweetens it.

GEAR: A thermometer helps, like the CDN TCG400 Professional Candy and Deep Fry Thermometer, available for $12.99 at Amazon.com.

TWEAKS: Toss in some chopped walnuts at the end of cooking. And while the candy is firming up, sprinkle the top with fleur de sel.

PRECAUTIONS: Making candy may seem a hot and dangerous business, but if you take your time and pay attention, it’s no more precarious than making jam. To be extra safe, wear an oven mitt on your stirring hand.

PEP TALK: Working with candy is all about temperature, and you are in full control. If, when slicing the caramel, it hardens too much, just slip it back into the baking dish and into a 200-degree oven to soften.

STORAGE: The best way to store caramels is in single layers between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a tin with a tight-fitting lid.