Bourbon Caramel Candy Recipe - A Spicy Perspective (2024)

FAQs

Why is my caramel candy hard? ›

Temperature is key when making candy. The difference between a soft caramel and one that's hard and overcooked is all in the temperature. Candy thermometers—like this instant-read thermometer—let you know exactly what stage the caramel is in (thread, soft-ball, firm-ball, hard-ball, soft crack or hard crack).

Caramel sauce ends up being a soft-set caramel candy in the fridge, and if you let caramel candy sit out in a warm room, it becomes almost a thick caramel sauce. The two are on a continuum that starts with granulated sugar and ends with carbonized sugar.

Temperature matters when making caramel. How hot the liquid mixture gets will determine its consistency once it cools.

The water evaporates, leaving sugar crystals behind. If even one sugar crystal falls back into the pan of cooking caramel, it starts a chain reaction of sugar crystals and the entire pan will harden. The result? Gross, grainy caramel that is unusable in most recipes.

Heat until the syrup reaches 240 to 245 degrees Fahrenheit. The lower the temperature, the softer the resulting caramels will be.

Refrigerate until cooled and hardened. (Best if you refrigerate them overnight, or for several hours. They will be easier to cut and wrap). The caramel will seem hard in the fridge after they're set, but they should be soft at room temperature.

I looooove adding brown sugar to caramels because it keeps them incredibly soft and chewy. This is because brown sugar has a lot of moisture. Corn syrup. It's a controversial ingredient, for sure, but an imperative one for making candy as it prevents crystallization and keeps the caramels smooth as silk.

Caramel can be produced in so many forms such as, sauce, a chewy candy, or a hard candy because of how much of an ingredient is added and the temperature it is being prepared at.

Give your caramel at least two hours to set, or overnight if possible. You can also pop caramel into the fridge to help it set up faster. The caramel will sweat a little when brought out of the fridge, but will still taste fine. If you don't eat it right away, here's how to store caramel.

Once the sugar has all dissolved and turned brown, we add butter. The heat of the caramel will melt the butter and create even more wonderful flavors. Finally, after the butter has melted, we add heavy whipping cream. This will allow the mixture to be loose enough to be used as a sauce.

What is the formula for caramel? ›

The typical formula for caramels is C24H36O18 , so the elements of water have been removed from the sucrose.

If your caramel sauce is bitter, it could be that your sugar burned. Lower your heat and pay attention to the color of your sugar; it should be no darker than a medium tan.

This is usually caused by sugar crystals stuck to the side of the pan that didn't get fully dissolved. It only takes one to set off a chain reaction, and before you know it you have crunchy caramel.

Once the sugar has melted, continue cooking it until it turns into a rich amber color. It should be removed from the heat source when it begins to smoke and foam a little around the edges. Burning most commonly occurs when the caramel is left for too long on the heat source or when the temperature is too high.

To thicken a caramel sauce, use one tablespoon of cornstarch or tapioca starch (sometimes known as tapioca flour) and one tablespoon of water per cup of caramel. Then simmer the caramel, stirring it constantly with a wooden spoon until it becomes thick.

To speed that process along, leave the candy in a loosely covered container with a damp paper towel. If the candy is not wrapped, place a double sheet of plastic wrap between the damp towel and the candy. Change the damp towel every two to three days. It will still probably take a month or so for the candy to soften.

It's normal. Caramel hardens when you pour it into a ramekin but gradually melts into syrup during cooking.