1 serving
10 minutes
146 kcal
5/5 (1)
- Ingredients
- Ingredients
Caramel cream is a godsend for novice confectioners. Having mastered all the nuances associated with its preparation, you will be able to turn cakes, pastries and other pastries into a real masterpiece of culinary art. The caramel mass can be used as a layer between the cakes, and it can also be used to easily create an amazing decoration for a cake or pastries. This cream is deservedly famous for its splendor, softness, tenderness and beautiful beige shade.
I would like to share with you several simple recipes for regular and custard caramel cream with detailed photos and videos. These fillings are based on cream, milk, chocolate, which literally before our eyes turn into the best impregnation for cakes.
The simplest recipe
It is not known for certain who invented this wonderful dessert, which is created using the method of boiling granulated sugar with the addition of food coloring and flavoring additives.
A universal recipe will allow you to get caramel suitable for decorating any type of cake.
What ingredients will you need?
To create the dish you will need:
- regular granulated sugar - 1 tbsp;
- drinking water - 70 ml.
Step-by-step cooking process
Sequence of cooking steps:
- First you need to choose the appropriate utensils for the recipe. For heat treatment of granulated sugar, a pan with a thick bottom is suitable, capable of accumulating heat and distributing it evenly over all areas of the prepared products. This is the main condition for proper melting of the sweet component.
- Now you need to pour sugar into a container and fill the resulting mixture with filtered water. This should be done in such a way that the liquid food covers the contents of the pan.
- Next, you need to set the burner to medium heat, which will ensure the process of heat treatment of products with gradual and not very sharp heating.
- At this stage, you have to mix the mass to completely combine the sugar with water, after which you need to reduce the heat to just below medium.
- After this, you should stop working with the spatula. After about 7–10 minutes. During the process of cooking sugar, a mass with a golden hue will begin to form along the edge of the walls of the container, which will gradually move to the center of the mixture being prepared.
- It is at this moment that it is advisable to gently rock the pan several times from side to side, which will speed up the process of cooking the sweets.
- When all the bubbles that appear on the surface of the mass disperse throughout the entire layer and the caramel becomes completely transparent, you should remove the dish from the stove, then place it in a large saucepan with cold water.
- This technique will stop the ongoing boiling of the mass. At the same time, you need to run a spatula along the edge of the golden mixture, as if separating it from the walls of the pan.
Next you need to start making decorations for the cake. You cannot delay this work, since the caramel will harden after a short period of time, so the method of decorating the decorative elements, as well as all the materials and tools necessary for this, must be prepared in advance.
What can I add?
It is recommended to supplement the recipe with lemon juice or table vinegar, which will prevent premature crystallization of the mass.
A little chemistry
First, let's figure out what caramel is. This is a French word. It means anything made from sugar cane. Chemically, caramel is glucose, sucrose and maltose. In factory production it is prepared like this. Heat sugar with starch syrup in a ratio of two to one. Sometimes an inert syrup is used. The final product in this case contains less glucose (it is partially replaced by fructose) and is more hydroscopic. Once the caramel is cooked, it is very flexible. You can create any shapes from it. But as soon as it cools down, it becomes hard. How to make liquid caramel? To do this, you need to stop the sugar crystallization process. And any acid will cope with this task. Naturally, sulfur and similar chemicals are not used in cooking. The choice of acids that are not harmful to the human stomach is small: lemon juice, vinegar, dry wine.
For decoration
It is recommended to prepare the sweet in a wide bowl so that the placed composition lies on the bottom in a thin layer. With this technique, you can speed up the process of dissolving sugar and reduce the risk of burning of cooked products.
What ingredients will you need?
To create caramel you will need:
- mineral water - 150 ml;
- fresh liquid honey without rich taste and aroma - 70 g;
- granulated sugar - 500 g.
Step-by-step cooking process
Cooking order:
- Initially, you need to pour the sweet component into a thick-bottomed pan, then fill it with slightly heated purified water.
- Now you have to start the process of cooking sugar over medium heat. When the crystals are completely dissolved, add liquid honey to them, then mix the mass.
- Next, you need to continue the process of heat treatment of the combined components until the caramel acquires a light brown tint.
After this, it is advisable to place the container with the product in a bowl of cold water to stop the ongoing heating of the composition and prevent it from darkening.
For interlayer
Caramel for the cake, the recipe for which is a French version of creating an elastic and very pliable sweetness with the aroma of special sea salt and vanilla, can be used as a layer for a variety of desserts or for making elite sweets.
What ingredients will you need?
To make caramel you will need:
- white sugar - 280 g;
- butter - 110 g;
- glucose syrup - 40 g;
- cream - 140 g;
- vanilla pods - 3 pcs.;
- liquid honey - 30 g;
- fine sea salt (fleur de sel) - 6 g.
Step-by-step cooking process
Description of the stages of creating a dish:
- For heat treatment of products, it is advisable to have a copper saucepan.
- First you need to melt liquid honey and glucose in a thick-bottomed bowl over low heat.
- When these components warm up a little, you need to start gradually adding granulated sugar to them, constantly stirring it into the hot mixture with a silicone/wooden spatula.
- After the white crystals have completely dissolved, the resulting mass must be boiled until a caramel color appears.
- Meanwhile, you need to combine the cream and vanilla in a separate bowl, then heat the products until warm.
- After the sugar mixture has formed a rich amber hue, it is necessary to pour in the creamy vanilla component in a thin stream while constantly stirring the caramel being prepared.
- Then you have to continue heating the mass until it reaches 103 °C, after which you need to add pre-cooled oil, chopped into small cubes, into the contents of the container.
- Now you should actively mix the composition until the fat is completely dissolved, then add sea salt to the contents of the container, then mix everything and cool the product.
The presented technique will allow you to obtain a non-flowing, very pliable caramel with a dense texture, which allows you to use the sweetness for a tasty and elegant layer of cakes.
What can I add?
Glucose syrup, as well as honey in the recipe, can be replaced with regular confectionery sugar. Such substitutions are considered a deviation from the authentic version of the creation of sweets, but its taste and fragrant properties will remain virtually unchanged.
Recipe for making creamy caramel cream for cake
Kitchen utensils: several bowls of different sizes and depths, measuring utensils, mixer or blender.
Ingredients
butter | 300 g |
cream (fat content 33%) | 200 ml |
boiled condensed milk | 1 jar |
Step-by-step preparation
- Pour 200 ml of chilled cream into a tall container and beat it thoroughly using a mixer.
- In a separate bowl, beat 300 g of softened butter until it turns white and becomes fluffy.
- Add the contents of one can of boiled condensed milk to the whipped cream mixture in a bowl.
- Whisk the resulting mass, trying to get rid of lumps and clots of condensed milk.
- Add the previously whipped cream to the resulting cream.
- Mix the mixture well again using a mixer until a homogeneous consistency is obtained.
Video recipe for butter caramel cream
Watch the video below and you will learn how to make caramel cream, which is characterized by unprecedented tenderness and pleasant taste, perfect for both filling and decorating pastries and cakes.
Useful tips
- The butter should be left in a warm place for several hours before cooking so that it softens properly and can be quickly and easily whipped to the desired consistency.
- Use only cold cream, since it is in this state that it is easier to whip it into foam.
- You can adjust the amount of cream in the recipe yourself. Remember that the more cream, the fluffier and more textured the caramel mass will be. However, do not get too carried away with whipping, otherwise the cream will turn into butter.
- Mix the ingredients exclusively using a mixer or blender set to high power.
Made from butterscotch
The presented caramel glaze can be successfully used to decorate cakes, pastries, muffins or rolls. The resulting sweetness is often spread on toast or fresh bread, and added to sandwich fillings.
What ingredients will you need?
To prepare the product you will need:
- butter - 80 g;
- sour cream - 100 g;
- toffee (“Kis-Kis”, “Golden Key”, “Creamy”) - 400 g;
- powdered sugar - 100 g.
Step-by-step cooking process
Sequence of creating treats:
- The first step is to finely chop or crumble the candy. The method of grinding sweets depends on its variety.
- Now you need to place the pieces of products in a thick-bottomed saucepan, add powdered sugar and sour cream, then heat the resulting mixture over low heat with constant stirring.
- When the mixture becomes homogeneous, remove the dishes from the stove, add butter to the hot ingredients, then distribute it evenly throughout the sweet mass.
Caramel for cake, recipe for making butterscotch.
Caramel glaze should be used after it has cooled to approximately 40–45 °C, becomes quite thick and quite fluid, but retains its shape when applied to the confectionery product.
What can I add?
It is permissible to replace sour cream in the presented recipe with cream or milk with a fat content of 10–15%.
Flavoring additives
Are you unhappy with the sweetness of regular baked sugar? Then you can give the dish different flavors. Boiled syrup gets along well with chocolate, nuts, honey, cream, and spices. Do not forget that modern pharmaceuticals have also adopted caramel and produce numerous lozenges for coughs and sore throats. They simply add medicinal herbs to the syrup - mint, eucalyptus, etc. Chocolate caramel is the leader in popularity among children. It can be made as hard as candy. Or soft, like praline candy. By the way, you can make coffee candies in the same way. With the help of cocoa or chocolate, you can create a very tasty topping for ice cream, puddings, and profiteroles. This caramel is also good for decorating cakes and eclairs.
From sweets Korovka
Cake caramel (a sweet recipe based on the use of fresh candies) is an excellent option for decorating confectionery products.
What ingredients will you need?
To create the dish you will need:
- high-quality cream (fat content from 35%) - 500 g;
- candies - 500 g.
Step-by-step cooking process
Sequence of preparation steps:
- You can decorate the presented caramel directly when creating the cake, while its components are baked.
- First, pour the cream into a thick-bottomed saucepan. To get a truly tasty, thick and elastic mass, the creamy product must have a high fat content.
- Now you need to put fresh candies into the container, then continue to heat the combined ingredients over low heat while constantly stirring the products.
- The preparation of the delicacy should be completed at the moment when the candies have completely melted, the resulting composition will acquire viscous properties with the consistency of ordinary jelly.
The cake decorated using the presented sweets should be sent to the refrigerator for the final hardening of the decorative elements.
From milk
This liquid component makes the caramel soft and viscous with the taste of condensed milk, or dense and thick, like toffee. However, in any case, it will turn out to be a wonderful delicacy for decorating a cake or using the composition for other culinary purposes.
What ingredients will you need?
To create a dessert you will need:
- butter - 100 g;
- vanillin - 2 g;
- whole milk - 200 ml;
- white granulated sugar - 400 g;
- salt - up to 2 pinches.
Step-by-step cooking process
Step-by-step preparation:
- First you need to pour regular granulated sugar into a saucepan or frying pan with a thick bottom, level the layer, then heat the mixture over medium heat.
- In the first minutes, the sugar will begin to melt at the walls of the container, so in order to avoid the sweetness from burning, you need to constantly stir it and periodically shake the container to heat the product more evenly.
- At this stage it is advisable to use a wooden/silicone spatula. If you turn the mixture over with a spoon, lumps will form, although gradually they will melt.
- When the color of the contents of the cookware reaches a golden-amber hue, remove the container from the hob. You cannot overheat the mixture, otherwise the finished caramel will taste bitter and its taste will taste like burnt sugar.
- Now you need to combine whole milk with the resulting mixture, add vanillin and 2 pinches of salt to the products to minimize the excessive cloying of the resulting sweetness.
To adjust the consistency of caramel, you need to keep in mind the fact that if milk and sugar are used in a 1:1 ratio, the mass will turn out a little liquid, but after hardening it will become thicker. When combining these same products at a ratio of 1:2 (milk and sugar), the sweetness will be quite dense.
Homemade orange caramel: recipe from Spain
On the Iberian Peninsula, citrus sauce is served both with desserts and with meat and poultry dishes. This caramel is made using the jam method. Pour four hundred milliliters of freshly squeezed orange juice into a saucepan. Add two hundred grams of granulated sugar. Boil until the consistency of liquid caramel. Add grated orange zest. You can also flavor the caramel with vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamom for taste. If the resulting product thickens too much when it hardens, becoming hard like citrus candy, heat it up again and add a little water. This orange sauce should be stored in a cool place. The Spaniards pour it over flans - desserts like pudding. This sauce will also go well with duck.
From the cream
Caramel formed according to this recipe on the basis of a dairy product will allow you to make elegant elements, both for decorating a cake and for using the composition for other culinary purposes.
What ingredients will you need?
To create caramel you will need:
- butter - 200 g;
- regular granulated sugar - 400 g;
- fresh cream (33%) - 360 g.
Step-by-step cooking process
Step-by-step preparation of the composition:
- First, you need to pour a pre-measured amount of the sweet component into a saucepan with a thick bottom, after which you need to put the container on medium heat.
- In the first minutes, you should not stir the placed composition, as the sugar will only begin to heat up and melt.
- When bubbles appear along the edge of the mass, which indicates the beginning of the crystal melting process, you need to carefully move the contents of the dish along the bottom using a spatula.
- Meanwhile, you need to heat the heavy cream until hot, then remove the pan with the boiling sugar to pour the cream into it.
- At this point, you need to mix the composition, which, after adding the dairy product, will begin to foam.
- After this, you should return the pan to the heat and continue the process of preparing the sweets until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Next, you need to strain the caramel through a sieve with a fine mesh, then you need to add butter to the mass, and while constantly stirring the products, wait for the fat to melt.
After complete cooling, the prepared sweetness will thicken, which indicates the possibility of its further use.
What can I add?
If you need salted caramel to decorate the cake, you need to add sea salt to the products at the end of the process.
Recommended Cake Recipes for Caramel Cream
- Try also the honey cake, the unique taste of which delights almost every sweet tooth. The preparation of this product is very simple and hassle-free - this is a good way for beginners to practice cooking.
- Don't miss the recipe for a very tasty and deliciously attractive Ryzhik cake. Anyone can handle the preparation of this baking, even those who mistakenly consider the process a real feat.
- It is impossible to make a Snickers cake without the caramel cream that we talked about today. Take advantage of this great opportunity to please all nut and chocolate lovers with amazingly delicious baked goods.
Bon appetit everyone! I hope everything worked out for you and you were able to enjoy the amazing taste of caramel cream! Please share your knowledge if you use any other ingredients when preparing the filling. Tell us what kind of jewelry you make from it? Share baking recipes for which this particular cream is suitable. Thank you in advance and wish you success!
From condensed milk
This milk component manifests itself in the finished delicacy with a very delicate and pleasant taste.
What ingredients will you need?
To prepare the treat you will need:
- butter - 100 g;
- white granulated sugar - 100 g;
- condensed milk - 2 cans;
- liquid honey - 200 g.
Step-by-step cooking process
Sequence of cooking steps:
- First, melt the butter in a thick-bottomed saucepan over low heat.
- After this, you need to add liquid honey and granulated sugar to the composition, then mix the products, reduce the heating temperature to the minimum value.
- When the resulting mixture begins to boil, you should cook it for about 2-3 minutes. with constant use of a silicone spatula, after which you need to add condensed milk into the hot mass.
- Now you need to continue cooking with constant stirring of the composition for about 5-7 minutes, until the color of the mass changes to a golden hue.
The resulting caramel can be immediately used to decorate the cake or pour the sweetness into a jar, let it cool, then leave it in the refrigerator until further use.
What can I add?
To flavor the resulting cream, experienced confectioners recommend supplementing the recipe with another desired spice or adding about 30–50 ml of liqueur to the mixture.
Application
Butter caramel can be used to make sweet popcorn. Some housewives pour caramel and butter over the corn and then put it on the fire. But this is not the most suitable way. Caramel can easily burn and ruin its flavor.
Therefore, it is better to first cook the popcorn according to the instructions. Then carefully heat the caramel mass over the fire. Pour the hot mixture over the popcorn and stir quickly. Sweet popcorn is ready!
Popping popcorn isn't the only way to use butter caramel. It can be added to baked goods, ice cream, and even just spread on white crusty bread. This ingredient is used in many desserts. A jar of creamy caramel will always come in handy if you don't have any sweets for tea.
In addition, the product is used for preparing meat dishes, especially poultry. It creates a beautiful sweetish crust on the surface of the meat. But in this case you need to add a little salt to the caramel.
How to decorate a cake with caramel?
Caramel for the cake, the recipe of which can be adjusted depending on personal tastes, goes well with products coated with butter/custard/protein cream or mastic. At the same time, you need to keep in mind the fact that decorative elements created from such a mass often do not harmonize with chocolate chips, streusel (brown crumbs) or nut topping.
The table shows popular methods of caramel decorations:
Name of elements, place of cake processing | Description of the decoration technique |
Gossamer mesh | These products are used to elegantly decorate the side parts of a well-frozen cake. To make jewelry, you need to spread parchment paper on the table and rub it with oil. Then you should measure the height of the finished product, placed on a flat dish, and cut out the corresponding strips from the processed sheet. Now you need to take a tablespoon of caramel and “draw” a lattice of any shape on the paper from the flowing streams. The edges of the mesh can be straightened with a knife and before the material hardens, you need to remove the product from the parchment. Then you should stick the web to the cake. The ends of the mesh can be secured at the grid joints using droplets of water. |
Thin threads | To obtain such decorations, you need to dip a long wooden stick into caramel. When it is removed from the sweetness, a thin stream will follow, which will become the material for decorating the top or sides of the cake. The formed threads can be threaded in strips along the selected places on the dessert. This technique allows you to get original twisted decoration details, as well as a variety of intricate figures that you have to “draw” on a silicone mat. If necessary, crystal threads make excellent inscriptions on the cake. |
Openwork basket | As a frame for making the presented product, you can use an inverted silicone mold, a metal plate of the desired size, a regular saucer covered with foil, an orange or grapefruit. Any item or the paper covering it must be oiled so that the fragile item can be easily removed. First, you need to scoop the caramel into a spoon, then apply a thick strip to the base of the plate or mold. After this, you need to continue making the basket, “drawing” transverse and longitudinal lines. To remove the openwork product, you need to wait until it has completely cooled down and become stronger, then you need to grab it and easily turn it around the base. |
Caramel leaves and figures | To create such products, you will need to draw large drops on oiled paper, then press down their edges, imitating the shape of leaf plates, then you need to apply images of veins on the blanks. All actions should be performed quickly while the material remains soft. After this, it is necessary to slightly stretch the products so that they are not flat. The resulting leaves can be used as cake decoration elements. In another version, parts of the “plant” need to be attached to a “stem” of the same caramel, placing a sweet sprig on top of the cake. The presented technique allows you to draw out a wide variety of figures, decorating the finished dessert with them. |
Spiral | This is one of the popular techniques for making melted sugar jewelry at home. The products can have a round hemispherical shape, for which the caramel thread should be wound, for example, on a ladle. To form an oblong spiral, use a rolling pin, the wooden handle of a ladle or a culinary whisk. Caramel should be poured from a spoon in a spiral, gradually turning the base. When the product hardens, you need to carefully pull out the inner object. |
Ball | To decorate this decoration, you need to take 2 skewers or skewers and secure them at a distance of approximately 20 cm from each other. Then you have to use a fork to sprinkle caramel over the fixed objects. All that remains is to carefully collect the thin threads in the shape of a ball of the desired size. |
Caramel for the cake, the recipe for which should be chosen according to the type of dessert, requires very careful handling. In this case, it is necessary to act as quickly as possible. If the caramel mass begins to harden before finishing work on the decorative elements, the composition must be heated over low heat. It is not recommended to stir the product frequently - such “disturbance” can cause it to become sugary and quickly become cloudy. It is almost impossible to correct such an oversight.
Caramel honey cake - cakes
Recipes in which the amount of flour per 2 eggs is at least two glasses require rolling out the cakes. If the recipe contains no more than one glass of flour, baking is assumed using the biscuit method.
- Cakes for honey cake are prepared exclusively using the custard method. The dough is brewed in a steam bath, with the gradual introduction of new ingredients. The finished dough is divided into at least eight parts. A layer of the required diameter is rolled out from each. Bake for no more than 5-7 minutes at 180 C.
Option 1
Initially, melt butter, honey, sugar, soda. After complete dissolution, add the eggs and stir quickly. The mass should be homogeneous. Then, in small portions, add a glass of flour. Mix well, remove from heat.
Allow the mixture to cool and knead on the table. If the kneading requires more flour than in the recipe, feel free to add more. If you do not add as much flour as the dough requires, you will not be able to roll out the cakes. They can stick strongly even with copious amounts of flour and tear.
Option 2
In the bathhouse we heat honey, butter, sugar. After complete dissolution, add soda and eggs. After another couple of minutes, add some flour. The brewing process is accompanied by constant stirring. As soon as the mixture begins to thicken, remove from the stove.
Add the rest of the flour in small portions. If the dough is tight and all the flour is not used up, leave it for adding when rolling out the cakes.
- If you knead on a hot base, it will take a lot of flour. The dough will become rough and clogged. The finished cakes will be very hard and tough. They will require a lot of cream and additional impregnation.
Option 3
In the bathhouse we heat butter, honey, sugar. Add baking soda and previously beaten eggs with a pinch of salt. Gradually add flour. Mix until the dough becomes thick. Then remove from heat and let cool slightly.
This option does not involve rolling. Bake in a biscuit tin for no more than 30-40 minutes, or on parchment for 5-7 minutes.
Useful tips and tricks
Transparent colored caramel decorations on cakes look very professional.
Making such delights at home is not entirely difficult if you take into account the following recommendations:
- It is better to start your first experiments with the manufacture of fragile products with simple but very stylish elements - drops, cobwebs, openwork hemispheres;
- Creating a sugar dessert takes only a few minutes, so you can’t be distracted from the cooking process. In this case, containers/molds for placing hot material must be selected in advance;
- To obtain caramel, it is recommended to use thick-bottomed dishes, which will ensure uniform heating of the ingredients of the future raw materials for decorating cakes;
- To prepare a good-quality delicacy, you need to buy high-quality (confectionery), pre-refined white sugar;
- The components of the viscous mass should be cooked over high heat with a gradual decrease in heating intensity. However, you need to remember one important rule - you need to have time to stir all the granulated sugar before it starts boiling;
- To obtain a transparent and delicate caramel mass, professional confectioners recommend adding a few tablespoons of hot drinking water to it. This must be done at the moment when the sugar begins to melt;
- Mix the heating sweet composition using a wooden/silicone, but not a metal, spatula. When the mixture begins to harden, you need to stop these actions, otherwise crystallization of the hot mass will occur;
- To make the caramel more plastic, you should include the required amount of molasses (maple syrup or fresh liquid honey) in the recipe. Flowers of various shapes can be sculpted from this material. Artificial honey can also be used as a plasticizer;
- frozen caramel can be melted again by adding a little heated liquid to it. Adding cream or sour cream will not only help in solving this problem, but will also improve the taste of the finished product. You should act with caution, as the components of the composition tend to splash heavily, which can lead to an unpleasant thermal burn.
Caramel cake toppings can be made ahead of time using any step-by-step recipe, then stored in boxes in a cool, dry place.
Liquid caramel for future use
The mass prepared according to the above recipe still thickens too much when completely cooled. How would you like to have a topping for ice cream, puddings, and pancakes at home? And for this we need liquid caramel. We provide the recipe for preserving it in a viscous mass state here. It resembles the method of making hard caramel. But if you want the mass to remain liquid, you need to make sure that the sugar is not overcooked. The mass should not be allowed to turn brownish in color. A silicone brush should be dipped into hot water from time to time and any crystals that have formed should be brushed off the wall of the ladle. If you notice that the mass has still begun to thicken too much, add a couple of tablespoons of water to it and heat it again. If the sugar has melted and turned brownish, then there is a way to save the caramel. Add a couple of tablespoons of hot water to the mixture. This must be done very carefully - there will be a lot of splashes.