Sexy Salty Caramel ... French Style

Grab a spoon, lick your lips and brace yourself for a recipe that will romance your palate !

The key element in making this smooth and rich salted caramel (also known as caramel au beurre salé...Ooooh la la) is the salt. In France, we use a salt known as sel de Guérande. All you need is a little pinch of this salt at the final stage of your caramel bubbling away.

But before we get to the part where we eat our sexy salty caramel, here are 5 simple steps to follow - the best part is this doesn't take very long at all, so you'll be devouring this delicious goo before you know it ! I've put together these steps because I work better in the kitchen when I can see what my delicious dessert is going to look like...

Before you start Step 1, swish a little water around your pot and pour it back out - this stops the sugar from crystallizing around the edges of the pot. If you have cream of tartar within arms reach, add some to the sugar and it will give you the same result as the water.

Step 1: Combine 300g sugar, [a pinch cream of tartar - if you are using this method], and 2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan over a low heat (this helps keep it smooth and sexy)

Step 2: As the mixture comes to a boil, the sugar will slowly dissolve. Stir once or twice with a heatproof spatula to incorporate the sugar and water

Step 3: This stage is hands-off, but make sure you keep a close eye as the mixture boils. After a few minutes, it will start to caramelize in spots. Once you see that, liberally stir again to encourage even browning....mmmmm almost there ! When the mixture is a light-golden colour, the process will begin to speed up rapidly. Lower the heat (this will give you more control) and cook, without stirring (you can move the pot in a circular motion to combine), until mixture is a deep golden colour

Step 4: When you reach the deep golden colour, turn off the heat, and carefully, very carefully, stir in 250ml of heavy cream, after this is combined, add in your 80g of salted butter and a pinch of salt. Mix until smooth...et voila !

Drizzle your hot salty caramel over a pudding with some vanilla ice cream to enjoy...if you want to be really French (comme moi), make some crepes in advance, and liberally pour the hot salty caramel on your plate....BON APPETIT !!!

Some other ideas for your hot salty caramel...use it to spoon over home made biscuits

Or my personal favourite, mix it with a home made chocolate sauce and bake it as a hot lava pudding ... C'EST FORMIDABLE !!!

How do you like eating your salty caramel ? Share your pictures with me.......