Salted Butter Caramels - vegetable oil

Method

• Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with aluminum foil that extends over the sides.
• With a paper towel, coat the bottom and sides of the foil with 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil.
• Set aside.
• In a 4-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a boil.
• Add the sugar, corn syrup, and honey and stir constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula until the mixture comes to a boil (about 5 minutes).
• Wash down the sides of the pan two times with a pastry brush dipped in warm water to prevent the sugar from crystallizing.
• Place a candy thermometer in the pan, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, until it registers 257F on the thermometer (about 15 minutes).
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla paste, and 2 teaspoons of the sea salt.
• Pour the caramel into the prepared pan and let it sit at room temperature until cool and set (about 1 hour).
• With the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil, coat a cutting board and the blade of a large chefs knife.
• Remove the candy from the pan by by lifting out the foil; invert the caramel onto the cutting board and peel the foil off of the caramel.
• Cut the caramel into eight 1-inch-wide strips, then cut each strip into four pieces.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper.
• Melt and temper the chocolate (see pages 2530).
• Place a caramel into the tempered chocolate, coating it completely.
• With a dipper or fork remove the caramel from the chocolate, carefully shake off the excess chocolate, and slide the caramel off the dipper onto the paper.
• After dipping 4 caramels, sprinkle the center of the top of each with a pinch of sea salt.
• Let the caramels set up at room temperature, or chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• In a tightly covered container between layers of waxed paper, the caramels will keep for 1 month at room temperature.