Sea salt caramels with grapefruit and black pepper
By:
Tom Shingler
Head of food, delicious.
-
Published: 27 Oct 22
-
Updated: 18 Mar 24
You don’t need expert know-how to make sweets at home. These tangy sea salt caramels are easy to prepare – and dangerously moreish.
Can’t get enough of that sweet-salty combo? Try miso caramel blondies next.
-
Makes 60-80, depending on size
-
Hands-on time 30 min, plus cooling and wrapping
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil to grease
- 5 large red grapefruit
- 240g unsalted butter
- 300ml double cream
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus extra to sprinkle
- 400g caster sugar
- 120g golden syrup
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes, plus extra to sprinkle
You’ll also need
- 30cm x 20cm baking dish
- Sugar thermometer
Method
- Line the baking dish with baking paper and brush it with oil. Zest 4 of the grapefruit into a medium pan, then add the butter, cream and pepper. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring to melt the butter, then remove from the heat and set aside to infuse.
- Put the sugar in a separate pan and halve one of the zested grapefruits. Squeeze in the juice from a half, then stir to ensure all the sugar is moistened. Add the golden syrup and salt, then put over a medium-high heat. Cook for 8 10 minutes or until the mixture reaches 155°C on a sugar thermometer and turns amber. You don’t need to stir the mixture – the odd swirl at the start will ensure it’s evenly mixed. Once it’s bubbling, leave it alone until it reaches 155°C.
- As soon as the caramel hits 155°C, turn off the heat, then strain the cream mixture through a fine sieve straight into the caramel (discard the flavourings), using the back of a spoon to help push it through. Take care, as the caramel will splutter a little.
- Give the mixture a quick stir, put it back over a medium heat to bubble for 4-6 minutes until it reaches 125°C, then immediately pour it into the lined dish. Give the dish a little shake to level the top, then tap it a few times on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Leave to cool for 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle over a few pinches of salt and pepper, then finely zest the remaining grapefruit and sprinkle it over the top. Cover and leave to cool completely for at least 2 hours.
- Use a sharp knife coated in oil to cut the caramel into individual sweets, wrapping each one in baking paper. Store in a cool dark place for up to 3 months. They’re best at room temperature.
Recipe from November 2022 Issue
Nutrition
Nutrition: per serving
- Calories
- 70kcals
- Fat
- 4.5g (2.8g saturated)
- Protein
- 0.2g
- Carbohydrates
- 7g (7g sugars)
- Fibre
- 0.2g
- Salt
- 0.1g
delicious. tips
You can double this recipe to make a larger batch of caramels, but bear in mind it’ll take longer to hit the required temperatures. It’s best not to scale down the recipe as it’s easy to overcook a small batch, causing the mixture to set solid (like toffee).
Make the caramels up to 3 months in advance but keep them covered and cool so they don’t melt.
Adding grapefruit juice to the caramel isn’t just for flavour – the acidity helps prevent crystallisation, which can happen when making caramel and results in a grainy rather than smooth texture.