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Chocolate Caramels

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

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Chocolate Caramels

Ingredients

Directions

Make the caramel

  1. In a large bowl, combine molasses, brown sugar, cream or milk, chocolate, and butter.

  2. Beat the mixture until well combined.

  3. Boil the mixture until it thickens when tested in water.

Set and cut

  1. Pour the mixture into well-buttered large, flat tins.

  2. Allow to cool nearly completely, then cut into small 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. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

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

  2. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

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

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Cream + chocolatetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,466 recipes

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

  5. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Molasses
Adds deep flavour and moisture, and helps the caramels stay soft and chewy.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and a caramel flavour, and helps the mixture set firm as it cools.
Cream or milk
Adds fat and milk solids that soften the texture and make the caramels smooth.
Baker's chocolate
Adds chocolate flavour and fat, giving the caramels richness and colour.
Butter
Adds fat for a tender, smooth texture and a rich flavour.

The step that matters

Boil until it thickens in water. Cooking the sugar mixture to the right point controls how firm the caramels become. Too little cooking leaves them sticky and soft; too much makes them hard and brittle. Testing a small amount in cold water shows when it has reached the correct stage.

“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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