Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup of cold water
- ¼ teaspoon lemon juice, fresh
Kitchen equipment you’ll need:
- A large bowl of ice water
- Greased baking sheet
Instructions
- Prepare the ice water bowl and greased baking sheet before starting. Once the caramel is cooked, you will have to move pretty fast.
- Mix all ingredients in a tall heavy-bottomed saucepan.
- ring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, between 5 to 8 minutes.
- Do not stir. Once the sides start to turn golden brown, swirl the pan around to help even out the color and keep the sugar from burning.
- Continue swirling until the mixture turns into a medium amber color. This should not take more than 30 seconds from the time you started swirling. Remember to keep an eye on the mixture as it tends to burn fast.
- Immediately remove the pan from the heat and plunge the bottom of the pan into the bowl of ice water. This should help stop the caramel from cooking some more and cool down the mixture without immediately turning to hard candy. Once the sizzling stops, it means the heat of the pan has evened out.
- You may now remove the pan from the ice water bowl and start working on your caramel garnish.
- Proceed with any of the garnish designs below.
Notes
QUICK NOTE: If the sugar has hardened along the way and has become impossible to work into designs, re-heat it for a bit just to warm it up.
Directions for various garnishes detailed below.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Candy