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Dessert

Caramels, Cream

A sweet candy made from sugar, glucose, butter, water, cream, and caramel essence.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cream 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 ↓

Caramels, Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Make the caramel

  1. Dissolve the sugar in the water.

  2. Add the glucose and boil until it reaches 265°F (130°C).

  3. Stir in the butter and cream, and continue stirring until it reaches 265°F (130°C) again.

  4. Remove from heat, add caramel essence to taste, and pour into a well-oiled tin.

Cut and wrap

  1. Once firm, mark with a caramel cutter, then cut into squares when cold and wrap in wax paper.

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. Butter + creamtop 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. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 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

Sugar
Forms the bulk of the candy and, as it caramelises, gives the sweet flavour and set structure.
Glucose
Inhibits sugar crystallisation, keeping the caramel smooth and chewy rather than grainy.
Butter
Adds fat for a soft, tender texture and rich flavour.
Cream
Contributes milk fats and moisture for a creamy, soft bite.

The step that matters

Cooking to 265°F (130°C) the second time. Caramel sets according to its final temperature. Undercooking leaves it soft and sticky, while overcooking makes it hard and brittle, so the thermometer reading matters more than the timing.

“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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