Sunday, May 22, 2011

Salted Caramel



With Emma in Italy this past week, I had some time to do some recipe testing. For the past year or so, salted caramel has really been a "trendy" flavor. I do occasionally come across someone who hears about it and says, "Ew! That's gross." If you've never experienced the flavor combination, put a grain or two of salt on some (quality) caramel candy and enjoy.

To achieve a salted caramel buttercream, I made a salted caramel sauce. This is where things can get tricky. I like an American style caramel - think Milk Duds (so much for quality, eh?) I think most people like this kind of caramel but that's probably because it's what people are used to. Then there's the other caramel - it's usually a dark copper color and has a bitter aftertaste. Because Emma prefers this type, I decided to compromise and meet half way. Plus, I feel the salt goes better with a darker caramel.

I paired the salted caramel buttercream with out moist chocolate cake and garnished it with some salted caramel sauce and a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt. Yum!

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