This Christmas I decided to make homemade caramels for the first time in my life. They turned out really well and Penguin loved them (as did I). When our first batch had been eaten, Penguin made it quite clear that more needed to be made, as a matter of urgency. The second batch was just as popular, and I feel it would almost be rude not to share this recipe with you all, so you too can enjoy some homemade chocolate caramels!
Safety first:
Although I generally like to get Penguin involved in cooking, baking etc, this particular kitchen project is one I prefer him not to help with. The caramel mixture gets very hot and sticky, and could cause some nasty burns. So unless your children are very careful and safety concious, I’d avoid having them near the hob when making these.
Ingredients:
(Makes approx. 50-60 caramels)
125 grams sugar (we use regular granulated sugar)
5-6 tablespoons cocoa powder
100 ml double cream
100 ml golden syrup
100 grams butter or margarine (we use Stork)
+ a pinch of salt
Let’s get cooking!
Put sugar, cocoa, cream, syrup, butter/marge and a pinch of salt into a pan, and turn on to about medium heat. Stir it all together and keep stirring almost continously until it starts to bubble. Then lower the heat and let it simmer.
The mixture should be kept simmering until it reaches a temperature of about 125 degrees Celsius (c 250 F). The time needed to reach that depends on your pan, heat etc, but should be around 25-35 mins. If you don’t have a thermometer (we don’t), you can do a ’firm ball test’ to find out if the mixture is done: Drop a little mixture into cold water and see if you can make a ball of it (using your fingers). The ball should be fairly firm but still possible to flatten if you squeeze it. If it’s very soft, let it simmer for a few more minutes.
Once your caramel mixture is hot enough, pour it into a heatproof dish lined with baking paper (use a spoon to spread it out evenly). Then as soon as it sets, lift the baking paper with your caramel on onto a large cutting board or kitchen work top, and start cutting it into the size you’d like your caramels (I’d say don’t go too large or you’ll have too much of a mouthful). If you leave it to set completely it will become almost impossible to cut, so make sure to do that while it’s softish. I’ve found that scoring it with a large knife first and then cutting it with scissors has been a good method.
You can store your caramels with a piece of baking paper between each layer. Leave them in room temperature (they go very hard if put in the fridge), but you might like to find a goid hiding place so that they don’t all get eaten at once…
I hope you enjoy these chocolate caramels as much as we do! Any comments or questions are as always very welcome below x
Linking up with:
Blissful Domestication
Sensational Learning with Penguin 
This sounds so good!
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Thank you Michelle! They really are so yummy! x
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This is a great recipe, will have to try this. Used to make something similar when I was younger! #KCACOLS
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Thank you! I hope they taste as good as the ones you’ve made before, or maybe even better 😋x
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Ohh yum! I do like the sound of these. I have never made caramel before. I might have to give them a try x
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I thought it would be tricky but it’s actually easy! Totally worth a go xx
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These sound delicious and really easy to make. Thank you for sharing the recipe :o)
#MMBC
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Thank you Catherine! I as surprised at how easy they were to make, and they taste lovely xx
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It looks TOOO Delicious! I gained weight over the holidays and now I must run from this post! Just kidding. Sounds delicious! #MMBC
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Haha! Yes these can be quite dangerous, very yummy indeed! xx
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They looks very tasty. I think that’s the kind of bake that would end in my whole kitchen being sticky!!! #KCACOLS
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Haha! Well the trick is to get all the ingredients into the pan without any children, animals or others interrupting. Once that stage is completed, the mess is contained to the saucepan xx
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As I love chocolate, I will be following your recipe very soon #kidsandkreativity@_karendennis
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Thank you Karen! These are easy to make and very tasty. I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we do! x
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These look amazing! I’m not sure i’ve made caramel before, only accidently when I have burnt sugar syrup! Thanks for linking up with #KidsandKreativity, hope to see you back next time x
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Hehe, well these taste a lot better than burnt sugar, lol! Thank you too, Kerry, I’ll be back asap x
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These sound delicious! I’ll have to try them as we are a very sweet-toothed household! #kcacols
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Thank you Ruth! I hope you’ll love them as much as we do. I thought they would be tricky to make, but it was easy! So nice to make homemade sweets I think xx
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These look perfect for Valentine’s Day and the kids would love making it too! #KCACOLS
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Oh yes that’s a lovely idea to make some for Valentines! xx
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Oh, these look sooooo good! I think my two would enjoy making these and seeing them all off afterwards! 😉
Thanks for sharing x
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Thank you Jayne! They are super tasty, and easy to make too. Just be careful with the boiling mixture while it’s on the cooker, to avoid burns xx
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