August 16th – Soft And Sticky Caramel

Today’s Kona Cotton color of the day is Caramel.

Caramel is a light beigy brown that could work well as a good blender piece or even as background fabric.

I love caramel…. like, A LOT. If offered chocolate (the kind I can eat, WHITE chocolate) or something with caramel on it, I will make a beeline for the caramel EVERY time. I like it more than pies, cakes, pretty much anything you name. I can’t have it with regular chocolate because I can’t have that, but oooooo, yum!

The caramel has to have the right consistency though. It can’t be too runny, it needs to drop slowly in ribbons from the spoon, and not be too hard or sticky on the teeth like taffy. No, no, no. Because when it is that right and perfect consistency, when you put it in your mouth, it melts and releases that sweet buttery finish at the end. Heaven!

When I spent my years making cakes…. yes, I was a Jill of many trades, I loved making caramel. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. There is a fine line, however, between the perfect caramel and a burnt acrid mess, which is why you have to watch it carefully.

Here is how I made it:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ t salt
• ⅓ cup heavy cream
• 4 T unsaled butter, cubed

Place the sugar, salt and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Let this simmer, stirring only occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Then increase the heat to medium-high and cook for another 4 – 5 minutes until it is a deeply golden color, without stirring. I pay attention to the color and the smell and here is where you want to pay close attention. The golden color should be a rich copper penny color. The smell should just barely start to be able to smell it. If it gets a full on very DARK color and a hard acrid smell, you’ve burned it and gone too far, start over.

As soon as you see that deep golden color, turn off the heat and stir in your cream and your butter. It will bubble and foam up quite a bit… that’s normal. Stir things thoroughly and then pour into a jar and let it cool. Trust me…. you won’t be disappointed. You might if you burn it, so DON’T burn it. It’s so delicious.

Today’s quilt is by Elizabeth Hartman for Robert Kaufman. She uses a lot of Kona solids along with a mix of prints when designing her quilts and this is the perfect use of Caramel. Let us know what is on your cutting table today.