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Chocolate Caramels, No. 2

A chewy caramel made with chocolate, sugar, molasses, milk, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Chocolate Caramels, No. 2

Ingredients

Directions

Make the caramel

  1. Combine grated chocolate, white sugar, molasses, milk, and butter in a large saucepan.

  2. Boil the mixture over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring constantly.

  3. Test the mixture by dropping a small amount into cold water; if it hardens, it is ready.

Set and cut

  1. Pour the mixture into buttered pans and let it cool slightly.

  2. Once nearly cool, cut into squares.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Chocolate + milktop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,128 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  5. Chocolate + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,543 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

White sugar
Provides the bulk of the sweetness and, as it cooks, the firm chewy set of the caramel.
Molasses
Adds depth, color, and a moist, chewy texture through its sugars.
Milk
Adds moisture and milk solids that give the caramel a softer, creamier chew.
Butter
Adds fat for a smooth texture and a rich flavor.
Grated chocolate
Supplies the chocolate flavor and some fat that deepens the caramel's richness.

The step that matters

Boiling and testing the mixture. Sugar syrup must reach the right concentration to set. Too little cooking leaves the caramels soft and sticky, while too much makes them hard. The cold-water test helps judge the set.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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