Salted Black Liquorice Caramel

Liquorice/licorice – love it or hate it? That often seems to be the way with liquorice. I happen to adore it, so for me these caramels are the perfect treat. The sweetness is balanced out by the fleur de sel sprinkled on top, and I like the like the way the flavours of the molasses and anise combine for an awesome liquorice taste.

These are not too hard to make, mainly stirring a bubbling pot on the stove. I did spend a bit too much money on some organic anise extract to make these, but now that I have it I can make them again!

It helps to have a candy thermometer to make these caramels, but the Cold Water Test works too. You drop the candy into cold water and test to see if it’s at the right stage based on the hardness of the candy once it cools. For this recipe you need to get to the hard ball stage. Here’s more information about the Cold Water Test if you don’t have a candy thermometer. I’ve used it successfully in the past, but found using the candy thermometer makes things one step easier. I bought a digital thermometer because it’s easier to read, and therefore to get the pot off the stove at the right time.

I got this recipe from the Bon Appétit Magazine, The Holiday Issue 2016.

You can keep these for a week or so in a sealed container at room temperature, or longer in the fridge.

Um, and I made two mistakes – too much molasses, and no water – but guess what – they were still awesome!

What you need:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon anise extract (not imitation)
• 10 drops black food colouring (optional – I didn’t use it)
• fleur de sel for sprinkling

What you do:

1. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper so that the edges stick out over the top of the pan. Lightly coat the parchment with non-stick spray.
2. Cook the sugar, condensed milk, molasses, butter, salt, and 3 tablespoons of water in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir with a silicone spatula until the mixture is melted and smooth. Bring to a boil and keep stirring until the thermometer reads 246F.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the anise extract, as well as the food colouring if you are using it.
4.  Pour the caramel into the parchment paper-lined pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Let it sit for about 2 hours to cool.
5. Pulling up on the parchment paper, remove the caramel from the pan and cut into pieces. You can wrap them individually in wax or parchment paper if you wish. Otherwise, store them in a container lined with parchment paper so they do not stick.

6. Enjoy!