sea salt caramels

On the sixth day of Christmas, there were dark chocolate sea salt caramels. That is, gooey, soft, sweet, buttery caramel, dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with tiny grains of sea salt. I’m a huge fan of caramel, in any form. Dulce de leche, caramel sauce, and caramel truffles are all good in my book.

sea salt caramels next to the tree

I’ve never been much into making candy (I’m pretty sure it’s because of the time I burned myself with sugar syrup in high school cooking class), but as long as you pay attention during the last stage, you don’t even need a candy thermometer for these.

I’ve been making these treats since 2009, when I first posted the recipe on my former blog, Mixing in Mobile. Attention to detail is key. Sugar can go from light to burnt in a matter of seconds, so it’s imperative to watch carefully. No Instagramming. No YouTubing. Believe me; I speak from experience. Keep your eye on the pot, and you’ll be golden (or a lovely shade of caramel).

How to Make Sea Salt Caramels

There are two main steps to making caramels. There is the sugar syrup stage, which determines how deep the flavor is. Then there is the caramel stage, which determines the finished texture (i.e. soft to brittle).

sea salt caramels

Step 1: Cooking the Sugar Syrup

To begin, you combine water, sugar and corn syrup in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and boil it without stirring. It will take approximately 10 minutes depending upon how powerful your heating elements are. You want the syrup to be a deep golden brown. This step dictates how deep the caramelization will be. In the past, I’ve only let the sugar cook to a light golden brown, but I wanted to experiment with a deeper flavor. It almost burned, but I got it off the heat just in time for the syrup to turn a deep, dark amber.

Step 2: Cooking The Caramel

After you get the syrup the desired color, you add the cream and butter mixture. It will bubble vigorously. Just keep stirring for about 10-15 minutes over medium heat, and every 4 minutes or so, take a spoonful of caramel and drop it into a clear glass of ice water. Try to gather up the caramel in a ball with your fingers. The first time it will most likely be mush, but you should be able to see and feel how the caramel is firming up with the next few tries. Wash out the glass in between tests.

How to tell if it’s Soft or Hard Ball Stage

The final test should be in between soft ball (when you’re able to form a ball but it flattens out) to hard ball (when the ball keeps its firm shape).

Stages of caramel making: sugar syrup ready, mixing in cream, firm ball stage, bubbly caramel
Top left to bottom left: Sugar syrup ready, mixing in cream, firm ball stage, bubbly caramel.

After you pour them in a parchment-lined pan and they sit (in my case, overnight, covered), it’s time to cut and dip them.

Step 3: Cutting and Dipping the Caramels

If you like, you could just cut them into rectangles, sprinkle with sea salt, and wrap in wax paper, but I like to gild the lily by dipping these in dark chocolate. Sometimes I roll them into balls instead of cutting into squares. I just melt my chocolate (dark chocolate chips) in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring until completely melted.

Then I use a long-tined fork and just dip each caramel in chocolate and sprinkle with fleur de sel or any other coarse-grained salt while the chocolate is still wet. Then just let these Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels sit at room temperature until set.

A parchment sheet full of just-dipped caramels in dark chocolate

And try not to eat all of these Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels before you package them up for gifts (because these have some serious wow factor).

Fleur de Sel Dark Chocolate Caramels
2.73 from 11 votes
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Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels

Sweet, salty, buttery caramel enrobed in dark chocolate and sprinkled with fleur de sel.

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword chocolate caramels, dark chocolate sea salt caramels, sea salt caramels
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes
Servings 36 candies
Calories 113 kcal
Author Amanda

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 5 tablespoons butter unsalted, cut into pieces
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup corn syrup light
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 8 ounces dark chocolate melted

Instructions

Instructions

  1. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly butter or oil parchment.
  2. Bring cream, butter, and sea salt to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.
  3. Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
  4. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.
  5. Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel reaches the soft ball stage,* (see note) 10 to 15 minutes.
  6. Pour into baking pan and cool in the fridge 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Dip each piece in melted dark chocolate, then let harden on a wire rack.

Recipe Notes

*This stage can be determined by dropping a spoonful of hot caramel into a bowl of ice cold water. If it has reached soft-ball stage, the caramel easily forms a soft ball pinched between fingers while in the cold water but starts to melt after a few seconds. If the ball is firm, that’s okay, too, but take it off the heat immediately.

Nutrition Facts
Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels
Amount Per Serving
Calories 113 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 13mg4%
Sodium 84mg4%
Potassium 50mg1%
Carbohydrates 13g4%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 12g13%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 148IU3%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 10mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Looking for other fabulous Christmas goodies? Try your hand at these Deep Dark Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, or bake a few loaves of this delicious Stollen to gift to friends and family.

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