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Dessert

Chocolate Caramels

A chewy confection made from chocolate, sugar, molasses, milk, butter, and vanilla.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 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. Combine the chocolate, sugar, molasses, milk, and butter in a porcelain kettle.

  2. Place the kettle on the stove and bring to a boil.

  3. Test the mixture on cool plates to check if it is stiff.

  4. Stir in the vanilla.

Set and cut

  1. Pour the mixture into greased tins.

  2. Once cold, cut into squares with a knife.

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 + 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. Milk + buttertop 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. Sugar + molassestop 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

Sugar
Provides sweetness and, as it cooks, the body that sets the caramel firm.
Butter
Adds fat for a soft, rich texture and smooth mouthfeel.
New orleans molasses
Adds deep flavour and moisture, and helps the caramel stay soft and chewy.
Chocolate
Adds chocolate flavour and richness to the caramel.
Sweet milk
Adds moisture and dairy richness, softening the texture as it cooks.

The step that matters

Test the mixture on cool plates. Sugar syrup sets harder as its water boils off and its temperature rises. Testing a small amount on a cool plate shows whether it has reached the stiff, firm stage before it is poured. Pulling it off too early leaves caramels soft and sticky; cooking too long makes them hard.

“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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