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Dessert

Chocolate Caramels

A sweet caramel made with brown sugar, molasses, butter, flour, chocolate, cream, and vanilla.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Chocolate and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,020 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Chocolate Caramels

Ingredients

Directions

Make the caramel

  1. Boil the molasses, butter, brown sugar, and flour for 15 minutes.

  2. Stir the grated chocolate into the cream and pour in the boiling mixture.

  3. Continue boiling until done.

  4. Test by dropping a little into cold water; if it hardens, it's done.

  5. Add the vanilla before pouring onto buttered pans.

Set and cut

  1. Pour the mixture onto buttered pans.

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

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  2. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

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

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

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

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

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

  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

Brown sugar
Provides sweetness and bulk, and helps the caramel set firm as it cools.
Molasses
Adds depth of flavour and a chewy, darker body to the caramel.
Cream or milk
Adds moisture and richness, softening the texture of the caramel.
Butter
Adds fat for a smooth, tender bite and rich flavour.
Grated chocolate
Adds chocolate flavour and colour to the caramel.
Flour
Thickens the mixture so it holds its shape when cut.

The step that matters

Testing for doneness in cold water. Caramel sets according to how far its sugar concentration has risen while boiling. A small drop in cold water shows whether it has reached a firm stage. Stopping too early leaves it soft and sticky, while cooking 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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