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Dessert

Chocolate Caramels

Chocolate Caramels are a sweet candy made from chocolate, milk, molasses, sugar, 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. In a saucepan, combine grated chocolate, milk, molasses, sugar, and butter.

  2. Boil the mixture until it hardens when dropped into cold water.

  3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.

Set and cut

  1. Pour the mixture into buttered tins.

  2. Mark into squares when nearly cold.

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. 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

Grated chocolate
Adds deep flavour and richness, and helps give the caramel its dark colour.
Molasses
Adds dark colour, a deep flavour and extra moisture, and makes the caramel softer and chewier.
Sugar
Sweetens the caramel and, when boiled, helps it set firm as it cools.
Milk
Adds creaminess and moisture, softening the texture of the caramel.
Butter
Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture and helps keep the caramel from being brittle.

The step that matters

Boil until it hardens in cold water. The sugar must reach the right concentration to set firm when cooled. Stopping too early leaves the caramel soft and sticky, while boiling too long makes it hard and brittle.

“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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