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Chocolate Caramels
2 tablespoons butter 2 cups corn and cane syrup 1/2 cup evaporated milk 4 tablespoons cocoa 1/4 teaspoon vanilla Melt the butter in saucepan, stir in syrup and milk. When heated, add cocoa. Stir frequently while cooking. Boil until when tried in cold water a firm ball may be formed in the fingers. Add vanilla. Beat until cool. Pour into buttered pan, cool and mark in squares. Wrap each square in oiled paper.
A syrup-based caramel with no granulated sugar at all, which makes it forgiving of crystallisation but demanding on temperature control. A candy thermometer removes all the guesswork here.
- Firm ball stageCold-water "firm ball" corresponds to 245-250F. Below that the caramels will not hold a cut square; much above it and they turn hard and tooth-breaking.
- Corn and cane syrupMost likely a blended table syrup; blends of corn and cane syrup were commonly sold at the time, though the recipe may equally mean the two syrups used together. A light corn syrup, or corn syrup with a spoonful of golden syrup or molasses stirred in, is a reasonable stand-in.
- Evaporated milkUnsweetened canned evaporated milk, not condensed and not fresh cream. Sweetened condensed milk would push the sugar load well past what the recipe expects.
- CocoaNatural unsweetened cocoa powder. Sift it before adding or it will sit in lumps that never disperse in the hot syrup.
- ScorchingMilk solids on the bottom of the pan burn easily as the mixture concentrates. Use a heavy saucepan, keep the heat moderate, and stir across the whole base rather than in circles.
- Beating until coolBeating a caramel this hot aerates it and firms the texture toward fudge. If you want a soft chewy caramel instead, skip the beating, pour at once and let it set undisturbed.
- Pan and yieldAn 8-inch square pan gives a slab roughly half an inch thick, about 60 to 64 small squares. Butter the pan generously or line it with parchment.
- Oiled paperWaxed paper or parchment cut into four-inch squares does the job. Wrap only when fully cold, or the wrappers stick and the squares slump together.