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Dessert

Chocolate Caramels

A sweet treat made from chocolate, molasses, milk, sugar, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Chocolate Caramels

Ingredients

Directions

Make the caramel

  1. Combine the chocolate, molasses, milk, and sugar in a saucepan.

  2. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture is dissolved.

  3. Add the butter when nearly done, but do not stir after it begins to boil.

  4. Test for doneness by dropping a small amount into cold water; it should harden and become brittle.

Set and cut

  1. Grease plates with butter and pour the mixture about ½ inch thick.

  2. When nearly cool, cut into small squares with a greased 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 + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Chocolate + walnuttop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,548 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

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

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Chocolate + milktop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,128 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

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, helps form the firm, chewy caramel body.
Molasses
Adds deep flavour and moisture, and helps keep the caramel soft and chewy.
Milk
Adds dairy richness and moisture, contributing to a smooth, creamy texture.
Butter
Adds fat for a smoother, richer texture and a softer bite.
Grated chocolate
Adds chocolate flavour and fat, deepening colour and richness.

The step that matters

Do not stir after the mixture boils. Stirring a boiling sugar mixture can encourage crystals to form, making the caramel grainy instead of smooth. Once it boils, leave it undisturbed until it reaches the correct firmness.

Swap the walnut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chocolate, molasses, milk, sugar, butter):

  1. Almondfits better
  2. Peanutfits about as well
  3. Pecansfits about as well
  4. Walnutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chocolate, molasses, milk, sugar, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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