Thursday 25 July 2013

Choco-Caramel Sauce



This is an I-can't-stop-spooning-this-straight-into-my-mouth-oh-****-down-my-dress-ah-who-cares-WANT-MORE-SAUCE sort of sauce.



Essentially, you make a dry caramel, then you stop it with lots of double cream, then you pour it over dark chocolate to make a caramel ganache (!!), then you add a bit of salt. Then the aforementioned spoon incident occurs.



It took a few tests to get the right ratio. The first time I didn't add enough cream or chocolate and it was way too thick. The second time I didn't have enough caramel and the chocolate was overpowering. The third time I hit on this combination and it's been reliably brilliant ever since.



At first I poured it over chocolate ice cream but I found that the flavour of the ice cream swamped the caramel and disrupted the balance. In the end I made a batch of my favourite vanilla ice cream, which works brilliantly.

When I started to churn the vanilla, I realised that I hadn't managed to get the base of my ice cream maker cold enough. After five minutes I gave up and scraped the slushy mixture into a box and froze it. I only stirred it up once with a fork but it still has a lovely smooth texture. I don't think the initial time in the ice cream machine did that much, so I reckon if you don't have one then stirring it around two or three times would give pretty good results.



I thought about adding extras - some raspberries for an acidic touch, some toasted flaked almonds for a textural crunch - but in the end simplicity won. It doesn't need anything else.



Choco-Caramel Sauce

55g white sugar (granulated or caster)
150ml double cream
40g dark chocolate (70-85%)
big pinch of fine sea salt

Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the bottom of a medium-sized, thick-bottomed pan. Turn the heat up to medium-high and watch carefully - after a few minutes, the sugar will start to liquify at the edges. Don't stir it - you can flick some of the crystals onto a liquid bit, but don't fiddle too much. Once it's nearly all melted and starts to caramelise, swirl it all together. Keep heating until you have a deep golden-bronze colour (see above).

Take off the heat then pour in the cream and vigorously stir it in as it bubbles up (watch out, it is very hot). If you have a few clumps, whisk them in while it is still hot. Leave for a couple of minutes to stop bubbling and cool down a bit. Chop the chocolate up into small chunks and place in a small bowl. Pour the caramel over the chocolate, then leave to sit for a minute before stirring into a glossy sauce. Add the pinch of salt and stir through.

Pour over ice cream while warm - if it cools down too much and becomes too thick, pour some boiling water into a slightly bigger bowl and immerse the sauce bowl in it for a minute or two. Stir till smooth (dip again if it's still too thick). The sauce will keep in a covered bowl in the fridge for 4-5 days.

(Makes one bowl, probably enough for 3-5 sundaes, depending on size. If you don't eat it all first.)



Three more recipes that involve a dry caramel:
Salted Caramel Brownies
Cider Caramel, Sautéed Apples and Cinnamon Ice Cream
Salted Caramel and Walnut Braided Bread

41 comments:

  1. God this could top my next celebration cheese cake! Dangerous but I am going to make it!

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  2. Warm Vanilla Sugar26 July 2013 at 01:20

    This sauce is fabulous!! Lovely idea!

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  3. Sarah | The Sugar Hit26 July 2013 at 03:32

    YUM! I once made truffles from a similar mixture, but you're right. Cut out the middle man and spoon straight from pan to mouth.

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  4. You live out all my sweet dreams love :-)

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  5. The diary of a cake maker26 July 2013 at 09:05

    Wow! Must give this a try for sure!!!

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  6. Victoria Pease26 July 2013 at 09:44

    Hahahahaha! That introductory sentence? Class! (Nice sauce by the way!)

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  7. YES. No more words are needed. (ooh, actually, apart from that I made coffee ice cream eclairs with hot chocolate caramel sauce a little while ago - if you get bored with vanilla ice cream - which you may well not, looks SO good - then try coffee. Very yummy) x

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  8. Paula @ Vintage Kitchen26 July 2013 at 13:57

    It´s one of those incredible combinations! The pinch of salt is all it needs, perfect.

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  9. disqus_VmC2D9oBAk26 July 2013 at 14:15

    Oh my! This is fabulous!

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  10. Oh dear dear dear. I think you understand where I am coming from when I say I both love you, and hate you for this? :D

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  11. poiresauchocolat27 July 2013 at 10:00

    Oooh that sounds good. Let me know how it goes!

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  12. poiresauchocolat27 July 2013 at 10:00

    Thanks! It was one of those things that just popped into my head and I had to try out immediately.

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  13. poiresauchocolat27 July 2013 at 10:01

    I made some truffles/caramels from my first, very thick mix. So good.

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  14. poiresauchocolat27 July 2013 at 10:01

    Hehe! :)

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  15. poiresauchocolat27 July 2013 at 10:01

    I hope you do try it! Let me know what you think if you do.

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  16. poiresauchocolat27 July 2013 at 10:02

    What can I say - I'm a classy lady...

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  17. poiresauchocolat27 July 2013 at 10:10

    I have no idea how but I must have completely missed that post, I'm sure I would have remembered it! Coffee sounds delicious, though I worry I'd miss the detail in the sauce again.

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  18. poiresauchocolat27 July 2013 at 10:11

    Exactly, it has all the good things - caramel, cream, chocolate, salt.

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  19. poiresauchocolat27 July 2013 at 10:11

    It really is lovely - I hope you try it!

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  20. poiresauchocolat27 July 2013 at 10:11

    Hahah I do indeed!

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  21. rachelcotterill27 July 2013 at 10:28

    "Caramel ganache" may be the most beautiful phrase in the English language ;) I definitely want to have a go at this!

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  22. poiresauchocolat27 July 2013 at 10:34

    In one edit I had 'caramel ganache' italicized for emphasis ;) Do let me know what you think if you try it!

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  23. Hi Emma. Lovely to see you in the 'Hot Blog' feature on page 21 on Waitrose Kitchen magazine August edition. I recognised your picture first!

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  24. Ah! This looks delicious! I love how the ingredients and process seems relatively simple, but quite clearly produces spectacular results. Would be perfect for an ice cream social...

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  25. poiresauchocolat29 July 2013 at 09:32

    Thanks Amy! It's always exciting to see something in print.

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  26. poiresauchocolat29 July 2013 at 09:33

    So often the simple things are the best! I'm now very curious - what is an ice cream social?!

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  27. Karen @ lemongrovecakediaries29 July 2013 at 09:42

    Chocolate and caramel - two of my favourite flavours. I'm not sure that this sauce would make it to the ice cream if I make it - I could just eat it straight up!!

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  28. I have a feeling that I would be caught eating this stuff out the jar. Looks heavenly!

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  29. Just a fancy word for an ice cream party! :)

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  30. What a sexy sauce! I just wanted to thank you about your mum's banana cake - I made it for a joyous number of family guests and they gave so many compliments. I've made many a banana cake before but I found the perfect one!

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  31. poiresauchocolat1 August 2013 at 14:15

    Sounds amazing.

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  32. poiresauchocolat1 August 2013 at 14:22

    Well that is a bit of a problem... hope you get to try it soon.

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  33. poiresauchocolat1 August 2013 at 14:23

    Thankfully I'm living alone at the moment so there's nobody to catch me ;)

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  34. poiresauchocolat1 August 2013 at 14:24

    Oh that's brilliant, thanks for telling me. I haven't made that recipe in ages, I should try it again.

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  35. Man I think the only thing I might like more than caramel sauce or chocolate sauce is the 2 of them combined. Feed me that by the spoonful!

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  36. Thanks, worked beautifully. I undersalted a fraction, it needs a proper pinch to come through the chocolate.

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  37. poiresauchocolat7 August 2013 at 12:35

    Hehe! Glad you like it.

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  38. poiresauchocolat7 August 2013 at 12:37

    I'm so pleased you liked it. I've altered the recipe to say a big pinch - it's hard to convey the middle ground between a small pinch, big pinch, 1/8 tsp up to 1/4 tsp.

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  39. My husband must be the only person in the world who doesn't like caramel. I'm trying to sneak it in when he leasts expects it hoping that he will love it and it will release my ability to be able to make more caramel. This is on my list to try to sneak past him.

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  40. poiresauchocolat14 August 2013 at 09:32

    Heh - sneaky! I can't imagine not liking caramel.

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  41. I know, right? And he can't even explain what it is he doesn't like about it.

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