Caramels, Caramels, oh sweet sweet Caramels!

Since I’m a fan of all things sweet, you’d think I would go crazy over caramels. They are after all pure sugar….. technically. I like caramel as much as the next but given the choice between caramel and chocolate, I would choose chocolate every time. Until now.

A friend of mine asked if my bakery sells caramels for the holidays. I blankly said no. She said she would like to give some to her sister, could I look into it. I thought about it and said what the heck, I have an old sea salt caramel recipe, how bad can it be?

A few days later I decided to try them out. Even though I’m a trained chef I still hadn’t ever made caramels before. It isn’t taught in culinary school. What happened next started a series of events that I am still trying to recover from.

Initially, making the caramels wasn’t that bad, although I expected them to cook quicker. It’s awful waiting for caramel to reach the right temperature and it takes for ever. But be warned, you CANNOT walk away from them, they will burn and spill over. This didn’t happen to me, but I came close to a major disaster.

Also be warned, no matter what pan you use, you will be cleaning it for days. Cooked sugar sticks like nothing else! After the caramels cooled, I cut them into squares and started wrapping them in wax paper to look like vintage candies or salt water taffy. There were some small pieces left over and I decided to try one. Before I tell you what happened, please know that before this moment, my experience with caramel had been of the store bought variety. I was ready to be underwhelmed.

I wasn’t underwhelmed at all! These caramels were amazing, soft, chewy, not too sweet and just the right amount of salt. I was hooked. I never knew that caramels could taste like this. It was as if I transformed sugar into the most delicious little treat. I then had my fiancé try them and the look on his face said it all. He too was hooked.

 

I happily brought 25 little perfectly wrapped caramels to my friends work and her co-workers went crazy over them. “This is the best thing I have tasted ever!” “These are amazing!” “Incredible!!” The list goes on. Next thing you know, I had an order for 50 pieces, then another for 25, then another for 50, another for 25 and so on. I couldn’t believe it. Word had spread about my caramels and out of no where I get an order for 125 pieces!!!!! As my fiancé put it, everyone had caramel fever.

I am one of those people with caramel fever. Food never ceases to amaze. Take sugar, cream, butter and a few other ingredients, be patient and watch it transform. I never thought of selling caramels and now I can’t imagine not having them. I’m happy making others happy and these caramels are making my customers swoon.

It’s crazy how something so big can come from something so small, but as I always say, food (mainly sugary food in my case) makes people happy on such a level, its unlike anything else. It’s what I live and breathe for.

If you would like to order any ‘mind blowing’ caramels from Sugar Love Bakery, please contact us at sugarlovebakery@hotmail.com and remember to stay sweet!

Lymarie Jimenez