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Chocolate Caramels

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

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Molasses and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Chocolate Caramels

Ingredients

Directions

Make the caramel

  1. Combine molasses, brown sugar, and butter in a saucepan.

  2. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage (test by dropping a small amount in cold water).

Finish and set

  1. Remove from heat and stir in the grated chocolate.

  2. Pour the mixture onto buttered pans to cool.

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

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

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

  4. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Chocolate + molassestop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together618 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Molasses
Adds deep flavor and moisture, and contributes to the caramel's chewy texture.
Brown sugar
Provides sweetness and helps the mixture caramelize and set into a chewy texture.
Grated chocolate
Adds rich chocolate flavor and melts into the hot mixture.
Butter
Adds fat for a softer, smoother texture and richer flavor.

The step that matters

Cooking to the soft ball stage. The mixture must reach the soft ball stage so the sugar concentration is right. Undercooked caramel stays sticky and soft, while overcooked caramel becomes hard and brittle. Testing in cold water shows when it has reached the correct point.

“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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