Caramels

Today, in between casting more wax forms for the choco-button molds, I made two batches of caramel: a coffee caramel made of strongly brewed Panama Esmeralda coffee, and my traditional vanilla-jasmine-orange-blossom-honey caramels.  The latter are terrific as usual; the coffee caramels are intensely coffee, and quite good.  (Next year I’ll add a little orange spice to the mix, and see what happens.)  The coffee caramels didn’t cook up quite firm enough, though – I stopped cooking them about a degree or two before I should have – so it looks like I will have to remelt and recook them.  I may add the orange spice at that time; I have leftover orange peel – cinnamon – cardamom – what have you syrup that I might throw in.  I’ll let Mike taste it and go with whatever he thinks.

The apartment smells wonderful– coffee, vanilla, jasmine – and the cats look contented.  (But then, cats always look contented when they’re passed out on the sofa.  Life as a cat must be really tough.  You have to work really hard to do all that sleeping.)

Next on the agenda is a batch or two of fudge.  I think I’ll make the usual stuff before tackling the more experimental candies.  So it will be maple walnut, chocolate-macadamia nut (spiked with extra Valrhona cocoa), coconut almond, and the Meyer lemon-lavender-white chocolate fudge for now.  Tomorrow I will do the more experimental stuff: coconut-lime (with candied lime zest, perhaps, or just the lime syrup leftover from candying), lemon basil, mocha.  I bought 3 kg of Valrhona Tanariva, an excellent milk chocolate with caramelly overtones, and think it would be interesting to try that with the Panama Esmeralda coffee for mocha fudge.

I think it might also be fun to do an orange spice fudge – I have that wonderful spiced orange peel syrup that I don’t want to just toss out, I think it would be wonderful as a flavoring.  Not sure how yet – must think some more.

Is this a bad time to mention that you can still sponsor me for $50, and get a box of these fantastic candies?