Salt-Caramel Pralines

These little bits of heaven are going down in the record books.

Salted-Caramel Chocolate Pralines

Can you say delicious???  Whoever first came up with putting sweet and salty together is a genius.  Whoever came up with caramel, chocolate and salt together is a bigger genius.

It took me... not 1... not 2... not 3... but 4 times to make my caramel.  Yikes!  What was my deal today?  I don't know, but I finally pulled it together the 4th time around and whipped up a perfect caramel...

This recipe came from this little beauty that I talked about yesterday...

Recipe:

50ml cold water

200g sugar

225g Cream double (this cream has more than 48% fat)

50g butter

1/2 tablespoon sea salt

425g bitter chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped

400g bitter chocolate (70% cocoa), to dip

sea salt to decorate

Prepare a 20x20cm form with butter.  Line the pan with plastic wrap.

Add the water and the sugar to a pot and heat on low until the sugar dissolves.  Bring the sugar/water mixture to a boil (do not stir) and let it caramelize.  Be careful not to burn it!  This part can be tricky (case in point... me).  The sugar goes from being clear to brown in what seems like seconds, so watch it like a hawk!

Add the double cream, carefully.  Stir in the salt and butter with a whisk until smooth and everything comes together.

Finally, add the caramel mixture to the chopped chocolate and stir together until smooth.

Fill the prepared form with the ganache and let cool for a few hours and then place in the refrigerator for a half hour.

Flip the hardened ganache over and with a sharp knife dipped in hot water, cut into equally sized pieces, approximately. 2x2cm.  Place back in the refrigerator for about another 30 minutes while you temper the dipping chocolate.

Dip the squares of ganache in the tempered chocolate and set on a tray lined with baking paper.  Sprinkle with the sea salt and let harden for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!