Vanilla Bean Caramels with Fleur de Sel

Mmm are these ever good! They are soft, buttery, with a hint of vanilla. They are not too difficult to make--provided you have patience and watch the heat carefully :)

Link to my YouTube video of preparation: https://youtu.be/jWHt2-eR8PU

Original recipe credit: https://www.cuisineathome.com/recipes/desserts/vanilla-bean-caramels-with-fleur-de-sel/

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

2 c. heavy cream

1 vanilla bean (pod and seeds scraped from it)

2 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. light corn syrup

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. cold unsalted butter, cut in small cubes

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

fleur de sel, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Line a 9" x 9" baking pan with parchment, then coat (the parchment) with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Add the heavy cream, vanilla bean pod, and scraped seeds to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat until it begins to steam. Remove from heat and let steep for 20 min. When it is done, discard pod and transfer cream to a heat-proof bowl/measuring cup (it needs to have a spout/be able to pour slowly from it).

3. Meanwhile, in a large pan with tall sides (I think the one I used was 6 qt size), stir together the sugar, light corn syrup, and water. After stirring to combine, use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush down the sides of the pot inside (you don't want any sugar/residue above the mixture line). Place a candy thermometer in the mixture (make sure thermometer does not touch bottom of pot) and put heat on medium-high.

4. Do NOT stir or move the pan while mixture is heating. Once mixture boils, decrease heat to just above medium. Continue to monitor temperature and adjust heat if needed. It should take around 24-30 minutes from the time you started heating, to reach a temperature of 325°F. The temperature will climb quickly at first, then should slowly climb once it's in the upper 200's. When the mixture begins to darken around the edge, you may then swirl the pan to evenly distribute the caramelization (this was around 295°F for me).

5. At 325°F, very carefully and SLOWLY pour in the reserved cream; you do not have to stir as you do this. Immediately after adding the cream, stir in the butter and salt, and keep stirring to get the mixture calmed down a bit. At this point, I lowered the heat to just below medium, as the original recipe indicated it should take about 10-12 minutes to get back to 248°F. I stirred only occasionally.

6. When mixture is at 248°F, immediately remove from heat and pour into the prepared baking pan. Let cool completely in pan (this will take at least an hour, if not longer). After around 20 min, sprinkle fleur de sel (or coarse sea salt) atop the cooling caramel.

7. Once completely cooled, cut into desired number of pieces. Individual pieces may be wrapped in wax paper for preservation/presentation. Enjoy!