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Dessert

Chocolate Caramels

Chocolate caramels made with butter, molasses, brown sugar, milk, chocolate, and vanilla.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Fannie Merritt Farmer · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Chocolate Caramels

Ingredients

Directions

Make the caramel

  1. Put butter into kettle.

  2. When melted, add molasses, sugar, and milk.

  3. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

  4. When the mixture reaches boiling point, add chocolate, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted.

  5. Boil until, when tested in cold water, a firm ball may be formed in the fingers.

  6. Add vanilla just after taking from fire.

Set and cut

  1. Turn into a buttered pan, cool, and mark in small squares.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

525Calories
10 gProtein
28 gFat
57 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Fannie Merritt Farmer. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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. See the original page.

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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Molasses
Provides dark color, rich flavor, and moisture that keeps the caramels soft.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the mixture firm up as it cooks.
Butter
Adds fat for a smooth, tender texture and richer flavor.
Milk
Adds dairy solids that give the caramels a creamy, chewy body.
Chocolate
Adds chocolate flavor and deepens the color of the caramel.

The step that matters

Boil to the firm-ball stage. Cooking too little leaves the caramels soft and sticky, while cooking too long makes them hard and brittle. The cold-water test shows when sugar concentration is right for a chewy 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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