Sugar, Cream and Fire
Browning seems to make food more appealing in winter, whether it’s meat, onions or the top of creme bru^lee. And then there’s caramel sauce.
There’s something satisfying about the burning of the sugar, something mysterious about the chemistry involved in turning a snowy white, granulated substance into a viscous amber-colored liquid. The resulting silky texture and complex flavor belie the simplicity of caramel’s two basic raw ingredients, sugar and cream.
Caramel’s distinctive, intense flavor is a godsend to pastry chefs this time of year, when the remarkable variety of spring and summer fruits is a distant memory and the winter palette of citrus, pears and apples seems modest by comparison.
Caramel is a rich accent to the hearty desserts that people crave when the weather turns cool. And I’m not talking about golden pulled-sugar bird cages housing miniature truffles. I mean sticky, gooey caramel sauce, the kind that seems to have been invented to melt into ice cream and that adds a professional finishing touch to the homiest of desserts.
Although the term “caramelaholic” isn’t thrown around much, caramel inspires a devout following among both professional and avocational dessert makers.
Emily Luchetti, former Stars pastry chef and now pastry chef at Farallon in San Francisco, always chooses caramel when she finds it on a dessert menu. And she loves to cook with it.
“When you order a chocolate dessert,” she says, “it tastes like chocolate. Caramel has such a strong, intense flavor that can go in many different directions.”
Caramel desserts at Farallon this winter have included an “apple split” served with apple caramel sauce, a combination that is an age-old favorite in its opposite incarnation, the caramel apple. She also serves a caramelized pineapple sauce with a coconut creme trifle.
Pineapple and caramel may sound odd, but it’s a combination that more and more chefs across the country are using. At Patina in Los Angeles, Joachim Splichal’s pastry chef combines roasted pineapple with spices, pistachio and caramel sauce. But the best caramel dessert in the country right now is at New York’s Jean-Georges, where Jean-Georges Vongerichten pairs roasted pineapple with salty caramel ice cream.
Basic caramel sauce is a familiar ice cream parlor staple, but it can be flavored with many of the ingredients it complements so well. With the addition of butter, it becomes butterscotch. It is also a basis for sauces flavored with fruits, spices and extracts, liquors and brandies and, of course, chocolate.
Campanile’s Nancy Silverton, a self-professed lover of all caramel, makes passion fruit and other fruit caramel sauces by starting with caramelized sugar to add body to the sauce and round out the flavor of winter fruit.
Flavored caramel sauces give desserts a special finishing touch that shouldn’t be limited to restaurant desserts. A simple French apple tart becomes an aromatic delight when accompanied by smooth lavender caramel sauce.
Espresso caramel sauce--think caramel latte--adds richness and dimension to chocolate. Bread pudding transcends its humble origins under a spoonful of warm pear caramel sauce. And coconut ice cream gives star anise caramel sauce a new way to fulfill its highest calling.
BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SAUCE
Spoon this over old-fashioned vanilla ice cream.
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whisk sugar into water in small bowl. Pour into heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Increase heat to high and boil mixture without stirring. Wash down sides of pan frequently with clean brush dipped in water.
Sugar will first begin to caramelize and turn golden around edges of pan. Very carefully lift pan and gently swirl mixture to ensure even caramelization. Boil until sugar is deep amber color, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and place pan in sink.
While sugar is boiling, heat cream to simmer over medium heat in another saucepan.
Slowly pour hot cream into caramel, whisking to combine. Mixture will bubble. If caramel hardens on bottom or around edges of pan, place over low heat and whisk until dissolved.
Add chopped chocolate and vanilla and stir until smooth. While sauce is still warm, strain through fine strainer.
About 1 1/4 cups. Each 1-tablespoon serving:
97 calories; 5 mg sodium; 16 mg cholesterol; 6 grams fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.07 gram fiber.
FRENCH APPLE TART WITH LAVENDER CARAMEL SAUCE
The aromas of lavender and Marsala make this simple dessert pairing extraordinary.
PASTRY
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup ice water
FILLING
6 apples, peeled and cored
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Marsala
CARAMEL SAUCE
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 to 5 sprigs lavender flowers
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
PASTRY
Combine flour, salt and sugar in bowl of food processor. Add butter and process in short pulses until butter mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add ice water and process just until dough starts to come together. Or combine flour, salt and sugar in mixing bowl. Add butter and blend with fingertips or pastry cutter. Stir in ice water until mixture starts to come together.
Form dough into ball, wrap in plastic wrap, flatten into disk and chill at least 1 hour.
Roll out dough on lightly floured board into 11x7-inch rectangle about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to 9x5-inch rectangular tart pan and press into bottom and sides. Dough should extend slightly beyond sides of tart pan. Chill 30 minutes.
FILLING
Chop 4 apples into 1/2-inch chunks. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium heat. Stir in chopped apples and 1/2 cup sugar. Cook over medium heat until apples are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in vanilla and let cool.
Slice remaining 2 apples into 1/4-inch-thick wedges. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Toss sliced apples with melted butter, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and Marsala.
Spoon cooked apple mixture into pastry shell, and arrange sliced apples in overlapping rows to cover filling. Pour any juices left from sliced apples over top of tart. Bake at 375 degrees until apples are golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes.
CARAMEL SAUCE
Heat cream in saucepan over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat. Lightly crush lavender sprigs to release fragrance. Add to cream, cover and let stand to infuse cream with lavender flavor, about 30 minutes.
Whisk sugar into water in small bowl. Pour into heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Increase heat to high and boil mixture without stirring. Wash down sides of pan frequently with clean brush dipped in water.
Sugar will first begin to caramelize and turn golden around edges of pan. Very carefully lift pan and gently swirl mixture to ensure even caramelization. Boil until sugar is deep amber color, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and place pan in sink.
While sugar is boiling, remove lavender sprigs from cream and reheat over medium heat until tiny bubbles appear around edges of cream.
Slowly pour hot cream into caramel, whisking to combine. Mixture will bubble up. If caramel hardens on bottom or edges of pan, place over low heat and whisk until dissolved. While sauce is still warm, strain through fine strainer. Makes about 1 cup sauce. Serve with French Apple Tart.
8 servings. Each serving with 2 tablespoons sauce:
649 calories; 335 mg sodium; 107 mg cholesterol; 36 grams fat; 78 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.58 gram fiber.
BREAD PUDDING WITH PEAR CARAMEL SAUCE
BREAD PUDDING
6 egg yolks
2 eggs
1 cup milk
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon rum
1 teaspoon lemon zest
10 slices stale challah or other egg bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
Butter for greasing baking dish
PEAR CARAMEL SAUCE
2 ripe, fragrant pears, such as Bartlett or Comice
1 cup pear juice or nectar
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons pear brandy, optional
BREAD PUDDING
Whisk together egg yolks, whole eggs, milk and cream. Whisk in sugar, salt, nutmeg, vanilla, rum and lemon zest.
Pile bread cubes loosely in buttered 2 1/2-quart baking dish and pour egg mixture over. Gently submerge any bread cubes that float to top.
Place dish in larger baking pan and fill outer pan with boiling water about 1 inch deep. Bake at 325 degrees until knife inserted 2 inches from edge comes out clean and custard in middle is set, about 1 hour, 15 minutes.
Let stand at least 15 minutes before cutting.
PEAR CARAMEL SAUCE
Peel and core pears and cut into eighths. Cook in pear juice over medium-low heat until pears are very soft and juice is slightly reduced, 30 to 35 minutes. Puree in blender until smooth.
Whisk sugar into water in small bowl. Pour into heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Increase heat to high and boil mixture without stirring. Wash down sides of pan frequently with clean brush dipped in water.
While sugar is boiling, heat cream to simmer over medium heat in another saucepan.
Sugar will first begin to caramelize and turn golden around edges of pan. Very carefully lift pan and gently swirl mixture to ensure even caramelization. Boil until sugar is deep amber color, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and place pan in sink.
Slowly pour hot cream into caramel, whisking to combine. Mixture will bubble up. Stir in pear puree. If caramel hardens on bottom or edges of pan, place over low heat and whisk until dissolved. While sauce is still warm, strain through fine strainer. Add pear brandy if desired.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups sauce. Serve warm over warm or cold Bread Pudding.
12 servings. Each serving with 2 tablespoons sauce:
524 calories; 204 mg sodium; 277 mg cholesterol; 32 grams fat; 55 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.83 gram fiber.
CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE WITH ESPRESSO CARAMEL SAUCE
This moist pound cake, adapted from Emily Luchetti’s “Stars Desserts,” is a classic chocolate dessert. Serve with Espresso Caramel Sauce and softly whipped cream.
CAKE
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup flour, plus extra for preparing pan
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing pan
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
Powdered sugar
ESPRESSO CARAMEL SAUCE
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons espresso
CAKE
Sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Continue beating and add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well-combined. Stir in vanilla.
Fold half of dry ingredients into butter-egg mixture. Stir in half of buttermilk. Fold in remaining dry ingredients and stir in remaining buttermilk.
Bake at 350 degrees in buttered and floured 7-inch bundt or tube pan until toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 45 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar.
ESPRESSO CARAMEL SAUCE
Whisk sugar into water in small bowl. Pour into heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Increase heat to high and boil mixture without stirring. Wash down sides of pan frequently with clean brush dipped in water.
While sugar is boiling, heat cream to simmer over medium heat in another saucepan.
Sugar will first begin to caramelize and turn golden around edges of pan. Very carefully lift pan and gently swirl mixture to ensure even caramelization. Boil until sugar is deep amber color, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and place pan in sink.
Slowly pour hot cream into caramel, whisking to combine. Mixture will bubble up. Add espresso and stir until smooth. If caramel hardens on bottom or edges of pan, place over low heat and whisk until dissolved. While sauce is still warm, strain through fine strainer. Makes about 1 cup sauce. Serve with Chocolate Pound Cake.
8 servings. Each serving with 2 tablespoons sauce:
551 calories; 392 mg sodium; 148 mg cholesterol; 26 grams fat; 79 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.49 gram fiber.
COCONUT ICE CREAM WITH STAR ANISE CARAMEL SAUCE
This would be a nice finish to a spicy Southeast Asian meal. Do not use reduced-fat coconut milk to make the ice cream.
ICE CREAM
1 3/4 cups half and half
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup coconut milk
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
STAR ANISE CARAMEL SAUCE
1 cup heavy whipping cream
8 to 10 pieces star anise
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
Anise extract, optional
ICE CREAM
Combine half and half, cream, sugar and 1/2 cup coconut milk in saucepan. Stir over medium heat to dissolve sugar.
Lightly whisk yolks. Whisk small amount hot cream mixture into yolks, then add yolk mixture to remaining cream in pan. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture just coats back of spoon, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain and chill.
Combine shredded coconut and remaining 1/2 cup coconut milk in small saucepan and simmer 5 to 10 minutes. Strain, reserving coconut.
Stir coconut into custard base and add vanilla. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
STAR ANISE CARAMEL SAUCE
Heat cream in saucepan over medium heat. When cream begins to simmer, remove from heat. Crush star anise slightly with rolling pin or back of knife. Add to cream, cover and let stand to infuse cream with anise flavor, about 1 hour.
Whisk sugar into water in small bowl. Pour into heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Increase heat to high and boil mixture without stirring. Wash down sides of pan frequently with clean brush dipped in water.
While sugar is boiling, strain and reheat cream over medium heat just until tiny bubbles appear around edges of cream.
Sugar will first begin to caramelize and turn golden around edges of pan. Very carefully lift pan and gently swirl mixture to ensure even caramelization. Boil until sugar is deep amber color, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and place pan in sink.
Slowly pour hot cream into caramel, whisking to combine. Mixture will bubble up. If caramel hardens on bottom or edges of pan, place over low heat and whisk until dissolved. Stir in few drops anise extract if desired. While sauce is still warm, strain through fine strainer. Makes about 1 cup sauce. Serve with Coconut Ice Cream.
1 quart. Each 1/2-cup serving with 2 tablespoons sauce:
516 calories; 55 mg sodium; 274 mg cholesterol; 35 grams fat; 48 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 1.07 grams fiber.
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Why Amber Means ‘Caution’
Next to deep frying, cooking sugar is one of the most intimidating techniques for the home cook. And it’s no wonder: By the time sugar starts to change color, it has reached 320 degrees and can cause severe burns if you’re not careful.
But considering all it adds to a dessert, caramel sauce is actually fairly easy to make. Essentially, it involves dissolving granulated sugar in a small amount of water over low heat and then boiling it without stirring until the water evaporates and the sugar turns a dark amber color. At this point, hot cream and other ingredients can be carefully added.
A copper pan is the best for cooking sugar because it conducts heat quickly and evenly. The next best choice is a heavy stainless steel saucepan with a reinforced bottom of either copper or aluminum.
Other tools you’ll need are a pastry brush, a whisk and a fine mesh strainer.
Make sure that the pot and all of your utensils are scrupulously clean before starting, because any foreign particles that find their way into the boiling sugar solution can cause it to crystallize.