toasted almond chocolate caramels
Toasted almonds and rich semi-sweet chocolate make these buttery caramels a decadent Fall treat. These rich Toasted Almond Chocolate Caramels are the perfect treat for gifting throughout the Fall and Winter holiday seasons.
Certain flavors bring back vivid childhood memories and an overwhelming sense of comfort and home. Both made by my mother, cut out sugar cookies with canned strawberry frosting and toasted almond chocolate caramels are two of the most powerful flavors when it comes to provoking a nostalgic journey into my past. Since I’m sure you all know your way around the grocery store frosting aisle, I’m happy to share the recipe for the latter with you today. I made these last week for a company gathering and they were just as big of a hit today as they were when my mother first made them many years ago.
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 10½ oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1¾ cups sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 4 ounces slivered almonds
- Line an 8x8 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.
- Toast almonds in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant and slightly browned. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- In a 1-quart heavy saucepan, bring heavy cream to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and add chocolate. Let stand one minute then stir until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a 5-quart heavy saucepan, bring sugar, corn syrup, water and salt to a boil over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Without stirring, continue to boil uncovered for about ten minutes until sugar becomes a golden brown. Occasionally swirl pot so that sugar does not burn to the bottom.
- Add chocolate to sugar keeping in mind that the mixture will bubble vigorously.
- Stir continuously over medium heat for about 15 minutes until candy thermometer registers 255 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add butter, stir until completely melted and smooth. Stir toasted almonds into caramel until evenly distributed. Immediately pour into prepared pan and allow to set for at least two hours.
- Remove caramels from pan and cut into one inch squares. Individually wrap in 4" square pieces of wax paper or foil candy wrappers. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
GADGETS
A High Temperature Candy Thermometer is a must.
RESOURCES
Assorted candy foils and precut wax paper squares can be found at Layer Cake Shop.
I made these using very high quality chocolate (read expensive) and I am very disappointed. I followed the recipe exactly and I am a very experienced cook. Even before the caramel/chocolate mixture reached 255 degrees, you could smell that the chocolate was burned. The chocolate broke just before the final temperature releasing all the cocoa butter in it. Adding the additional butter was futile, it just pooled.
This was a huge waste of good chocolate and a big waste of time.
Sorry, but I won’t be trying this again. I have to admit, it sure looked good in the picture, but you could taste the burned chocolate in the end product.
I bet these are amazing.
Oh my, these look incredible! I’m almost afraid to make them, I’d want to keep them all to myself! =)
they look yummy!