Weekend project: Make some candy for halloween
I made a batch of cream caramels over the weekend that was so delicious that by the time sunday night rolled around they were half gone. 
Now I’ have to make another full batch for passing out at halloween.
Here’s a link to the recipe - it’s not mine. Upon review and a few tests, it’s a very versatile recipe - cook it to a softball and you can coat cheesecakes, brownies, or cookie bars with it. Cook it to a sauce and dribble over waffles. Cook it to a hardball and they will set into yummy pieces of caramel.
Of course, I’m not going to leave you guys on your own. Here’s what I learned from making caramel all Saturday:
- Use a pot. I know, it says "a large saucepan." Two cups of cream boiling away in a saucepan would overspill by the time 10 minutes have passed in the boiling session.
- Do not skip ANY steps in a candy recipe. If it says to slowly pour in the second cup of cream after the first ingredients started boiling, DO IT.
- To test for doneness, have a few cups of room temperature water ready. Drop half a teaspoon full of the candy mixture in, and then pour the water out. That’s when you find out if you have a softball or hardball.
- If a recipe calls for a candy thermometer and gives you precise temperatures, don’t even think about eyeballing it. Candy making is like baking: it’s more about science than food.
- It is OK to use salted butter. It’d crank up the sodium content, but it does add a little something to the final product. Ever had salt-water-taffee? Mmmm.
- Don’t try to play with "making" chocolate until you have learned how to temper store-bought chocolate.
- Don’t leave the stuff on BOIL. Make sure it "just" boils, as like just above a simmer. Make sure your element temperature is below medium or the sugar will burn. You might find that electric works much better than gas in this project.
- When you pour your candy to set, butter your pan and then line it in wax paper. Otherwise you’d never get the stuff out. I learned this the hard way on my first batch.
Good luck! And it can take up to two hours for your candy to form a hardball, but MAN is it worth it. Everyone’s going to get caramel sauce and hard caramels for christmas this year.
October 23rd, 2006 at 8:37 am
Topical and tasty! We did this a couple of years when the kids were little. As I recall, they were pretty happy about the entire process. Thanks, as ever
October 23rd, 2006 at 5:53 pm
I agree with the salted butter on caramel. I remember having ice cream here in Tokyo, and my friend insisted on the “sea-salt caramel” flavor. Absolute heaven. Unfortunately it was around US$20 a serving. Mmmm. Can I go trick or treat there? I miss being a kid.
October 23rd, 2006 at 6:39 pm
Never fear, Paulo. As long as you can enjoy your ice-u caream-u (no matter what the cost), you shall always be a kid at heart!
October 24th, 2006 at 7:55 pm
A kid at heart I can remain, but only in my best dreams. When one realizes that he has to finish up a project within the week, instead of commenting on other people’s blogs (hmmm…) and reality sets in, food and memories can only relieve so much.
On the other hand, I have a halloween party to attend to this weekend, with lots of alcohol and eye candy. Being an adult does have it’s advantages.
Sally, why not get rolos for the trick-or-treaters?
It’s a two-for-one deal: a trick and a treat. 
It’s quantity, not quality that matters on Halloween. Or at least that’s what I remember it was about.
October 26th, 2006 at 2:09 am
Long…..longtime’s ago! I don’t see anyone young lady cook something ! YOU,I have NO COMMENTS!!!
October 26th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
I brought the “toffee” version of this (cooked to a just-below-mackintosh hardness) to work today and it was all gone in minutes.
It took a total of two hours to cook it to that hard though, but it will definitely stand up to prolonged room temperature standing.
October 27th, 2006 at 12:13 am
Yup, hard work gone in minutes. Personally, that says a lot.It’s really nice to read about people really going out of their way to MAKE candy. What ever happened to your baking? Are you now a master of the yeast?
November 1st, 2006 at 2:08 pm
I still have problems with yeast bread, but I got chinese sweet dough going, which is good. I can’t find a recipe for gai mai bao filling though - you know that yummy coconut stuff they have in pineapple coconut bun? Mmmmm.
For now I’m sticking with stuff that contains butter, flour, sugar, and no yeast.
November 6th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
包尾雞 on Google got some hits
http://blog.webs-tv.net/kaebakery1/article/1441728
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9B%9E%E5%B0%BE%E5%8C%85
http://blog.webs-tv.net/kaebakery/article/857698
Good luck!
November 23rd, 2006 at 9:56 am
Gerry…what exactly is 低粉?
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