This Amazing Sauce Transforms Both Sweet & Savoury Dishes
Let’s talk caramel. I do so a lot in my classes for there is something quite magical about the ability of just one ingredient, sugar crystals, to be transformed into so many different guises.
Sprinkle those crystals into a good, heavy-based saucepan, melt them over high heat and the most extraordinary alchemy takes place – they transform from solid crystals to a glossy, dark liquid caramel, which has a remarkable range of uses. Carefully add cream, vanilla and sea salt, swirl it back over the heat and you have the best salted caramel sauce ever; mix in a handful of chopped nuts, coffee beans or shreds of citrus zest, pour it onto an baking sheet lined with baking paper and it will set solid again to make the most beautiful, sparkling praline; swirl the liquid caramel around a cake tin, add custard and gently cook in a water bath and you have one of the world’s classic desserts, crème caramel. Simpler still, add a soupçon of orange juice, then pour it over peeled oranges and let them sit for an hour or so until the juice and caramel meld into a brilliant sauce. But it’s not just sweet dishes that benefit from this transformation, add fish sauce, lime juice, chillies and ginger and you end up with a wonderful glaze for chicken or prawns. There is just so much you can do with it.
However, there are three golden rules to keep in mind when you caramelise the sugar:
Wash any crystals off the sides of the pan as the sugar caramelises to help prevent it candying and becoming cloudy.
It can give you an awful burn, so be very careful when you’re handling the pan.
And lastly, be brave and take it to the point where it’s darker than you feel it should be and has a whiff of a burnt edge. It’s this contrast of sweet yet slightly bitter that makes it such a sensational ingredient.
Salted caramel sauce
This sauce keeps well for at least six weeks in the fridge and can be used for all manner of delicious things. It’s divine poured over vanilla ice-cream or spooned onto a steamed pudding. It’s also a fabulous accompaniment to a simple chocolate cake or brownie, transforming them from a morning or afternoon treat to a special dessert.
Makes about 1½ cups (375ml)
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
¾ cup (180ml) pure cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
Pour the sugar and ½ cup (125ml) water into a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring, increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to the boil. Allow it to boil, undisturbed, washing down the sides occasionally with a brush dipped in water to remove any sugar crystals that may form. Once the syrup turns a light amber colour, watch it like a hawk. You want it to become a gorgeous, rich brown, but not so dark that it burns.
When it’s ready, remove the pan from the heat and pour in the cream. Be mindful to protect your hands with long oven gloves or thick tea towels when you do this, as the caramel may well spit and bubble up. Return the pan to gentle heat and stir to dissolve the caramel into the cream. Finally, swirl in the vanilla extract and salt, then set the pan aside.
Once the sauce is cool, pour it into a jar, seal it tightly and store it in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Return the sauce to cool room temperature before using.
Extract from A Year of Sundays by Belinda Jeffery, out now from Simon & Schuster Australia, RRP $45