Chocolate Caramels With Sea Salt

This recipe is adapted from “Mast Brothers Chocolate: A Family Cookbook,” by Rick and Michael Mast, the Brooklyn chocolatiers. Make sure you have a candy thermometer, and watch out — caramel is extremely hot. Dry weather will help your caramel set. And now that we’ve applied sufficient warning: make these caramels. They are deliciously salty, with an undercurrent of rich chocolate. You’ll never buy the plastic-wrapped ones again.

Ingredients

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
• 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 ounces dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cacao solids), broken into pieces
• 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as Maldon

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (100 servings)

    65 calories; 5 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 0 grams protein; 13 milligrams cholesterol; 25 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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About 100 small caramels

Preparation

1. Butter an 8-inch square pan and line with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an extra inch or two hanging over the sides.
2. In a saucepan, heat cream and butter until melted.
3. Make the caramel: Pour sugar into a large saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer (or use an instant-read model). Over medium heat, heat sugar until edges begin to melt and turn brown. Using a wooden or silicone spoon, drag melted edges in towards the center of the pot to redistribute the heat. Continue to melt sugar, stirring gently to break up clumps, to 300 degrees; it will be dark brown, bubbling and clear. This will take about 10 minutes.
4. Immediately pour cream-butter mixture through a strainer into caramel: it will bubble wildly. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat to 260 degrees; this will take about 10 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to very low, add chocolate, and stir until melted and smooth.
6. Pour mixture into lined pan and let cool 15 minutes. Sprinkle salt on top. Let cool at room temperature until firm about 3 hours or overnight. (If weather is hot and humid, chill in refrigerator.)
7. When cool and firm, use paper to lift caramel slab out of pan. Using a large sharp knife and a ruler, cut into small squares, about 3/4-inch. Refrigerated caramel will need to soften slightly at room temperature before cutting.

• Depending on the quality of the chocolate and the butterfat content of the cream, the mixture may separate when the chocolate is added to the pot. It can be re-emulsified with a whisk or an immersion blender, and adding a little more cream can help too.