Making caramel, yes we are

There are tons of ways in which you can show off your cakes, desserts, cupcakes or ice cream scoops with decorations made from caramel. It’s very fragile so, handle with care and some love would also be nice 🙂 I used it in my last cake as a filling +decoration. The cake is quite famous and one of my favorites Coffee Caramel crunch. Ok now let’s begin, shall we.

Caramel is formed during the last stage of cooking sugar, when all the moisture has evaporated and the melted sugar colors to a golden brown. Caramel is liquid when hot but when cools it becomes crisp and brittle. If the heat is too high, the sugar will burn at the edges before the sugar in the center melted.

While making caramel, have no kids around, and be extremely cautions of not getting in contact with the caramelizing sugar as it will leave painful scars.

Caramel can be made in two ways:

1. Heating plain sugar.
2. Heating sugar syrup

The latter method is more successful because it reduces the chances of burning your caramel and the color will be more even.

What you need>>>

Saucepan
Sugar ————- 5 tbsp
Water————- 3 tbsp

How it’s made>>>

Caramelizing sugar syrup>>>

1. Mix sugar in water till it disappears.
2. Boil sugar syrup on a medium flame until it starts to brown around the edges of the pan. Lower the heat and continue cooking. Swirling the pan once or twice so the syrup colors evenly.
3. Tip the pan sideways for light or dark color. Just be careful and don’t burn it.
4. To stop the caramel from cooking further in the heat of the pan, dip the base of the pan in a bowl of cool water. You can make the caramel light or dark colored, as you like, just don’t burn it and ruin everything.

Caramelizing sugar>>>

1. Put sugar in a heavy pan, cook over medium heat till it melts.
2. Stir occasionally.
3. Stir till it melts evenly to light golden color.

Please note that the caramel will continue to cook in the heat of the pan so keep stirring even after turning the heat off. Then pour it onto a lightly greased preferably metallic plate, wait for it to cool down, and then break into tiny pieces or make a caramel cage at the back of a round metal spoon.

Caramel cage makes a shiny, delicate decoration which can be placed over a scoop of ice cream or creamy desserts, like creme caramel. But remember that it softens in 1 0r 2 hours so, place it at the last moment. ok?

Making caramel cage>>>

1. Lightly oil the back of a metal spoon or a bowl.
2. Make caramel as above, and dip the base of the pan briefly into a bowl of cold water to stop cooking.
3. Let it stand for 1 -2 minutes so that it thickens slightly, enough for it to form long threads when picked up by a spoon.
4. With the help of a  tablespoon, trail this threads of caramel back and forth across the oiled surface your metallic bowl of spoon.
5. Continue till you form a cage. Seal the edges of the cage by trailing a ring of caramel around the edges of your metallic bowl.
6. Let it sit till it is crisp.
7. Gently loosen the caramel cage from the mold, by pushing it up and off with your fingers. Set it onto an oiled tray.
8. Please place it in a dry, cool place until it’s time to shine 🙂 which means until you’re ready to serve.

It might sound difficult but trust me, it’s a piece of cake. Just handle it with cautions when it’s hot. Make one of these next time, and your guests won’t go back home unimpressed, that’s guaranteed!

Have fun people!