fleur de sel honey caramels
Welcome spring and indulge in the flavors of your local honey harvest with a batch of sweet and salty Fleur de Sel Honey Caramels.
Happy First Day of Spring! I hope the weather is just lovely in your neck of the woods, but if the weather hasn’t caught up to the calendar quite yet these caramels are sure to brighten your day. Making caramels with pure honey instead of corn syrup yields a deeply caramelized, aromatic candy that is perfectly balanced with a sprinkle of fine sea salt. No two batches are alike if using local honey as the florals are enhanced during the caramelization process. This batch was made from a local wildflower honey and was simply delightful.
- ½ cup pure honey
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon fine fleur de sel, plus additional for finishing (I prefer Murray River)
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Line an 8×8 inch square cake pan by criss-crossing two sheets of parchment paper, being sure to cover all sides. Spray lightly with cooking spray and set aside.
- Combine honey and sugar in a deep saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Boil until mixture is a fragrant golden brown, swirling occasionally.
- In a small saucepan, bring cream, butter and fleur de sel to a simmer while waiting for the sugar mixture to brown. Once simmering and butter melted, remove from heat and set aside.
- When sugar mixture is ready, turn off heat and slowly add cream mixture. Take caution as the sugar and cream combination will bubble violently at first and then settle as you stir. This is why a deep saucepan is key.
- Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and return the caramel to medium low heat. Stirring occasionally, cook for about 10 minutes until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once desired temperature is reached, remove from heat and carefully pour into prepared baking pan. Do not scrape sides of saucepan, this caramel will be slightly overdone and can be discarded.
- Sprinkle with additional fleur de sel if desired and refrigerate until caramel is set, about two hours.
- Remove caramel from pan and cut into desired size with a sharp knife. Wrap caramels with 4×4″ squares of candy foil or wax paper.
GADGETS
High Temperature Candy Thermometer
RESOURCES
Assorted candy foils can be found at the Layer Cake Shop.
Cellophane caramel wrappers can be found at Sweet Celebrations.
Murray River Salt Flakes can be found online or at your local specialty food stores. I have found them at Williams Sonoma, Sur la Table, and The Savory Spice Shop.
These were absolutely delicious, but I cooked them to 248 degrees with both a mercury candy thermometer and a thermo pro, and they didn’t set at room temperature. I would love to make these as gifts because they’re so yummy. Any idea what I could have done wrong?
I tried making these with heavy cream I’d previously frozen, honey I’d just decrystallized, and the addition of a couple of tablespoons of dried lavender infused in the simmering cream-butter mixture. Through no fault of the recipe—probably because of my wonky leftover-grade ingredients—the caramels separated upon cooling into a caramel layer and a cake-of-milkfat-layer on top. I embraced it and sliced and packaged anyway. They do taste amazing!! I’ll be sure to try this again—with fresh ingredients! Thank you.
I am so excited to try these out. They look gorgeous and so nice to see a recipe for caramels without corn syrup. How would you describe the texture of these? are they more soft or hard caramels?
All of my caramels on my site are soft in texture. They are firm enough to cut and wrap but always soft and buttery. These definitely aren’t the type to get stuck in your teeth or break a tooth due to their melt in your mouth quality. Just make sure you don’t go over 248 degrees! Cooking temp dictates candy consistency. :)
YUM!! I’ve made regular sea salt caramels before, but never with honey. Sounds like an awesome addition!
Thanks Brandon! Honey definitely makes some of my favorite caramels. We found some local honey at the Ferry Building that has marshmallow tasting notes – cannot wait to make another batch.
i’d love to make my own. they look great!
Thanks Dina! I’d love to hear what you think if you make a batch. :)