We love to make sweets that capture the naturally indulgent taste of caramel and bring them to grown-up lovers of confectionery. Always proper. Always mischievous. And occasionally adventurous. Just like Burnt Sugar sweetie-loving customers.
Firstly, a big hand (‘cos they need a big hand) for our ‘Fudge-Meisters’ – like Andy - who has been in charge of our hand-made fudge for the last two years.
This is what the hot fudge looks like as he beats it into a whirling frenzy before it becomes the delicious crumbly stuff that Burnt Sugar fun-loving foodies have come to know and love.
This isn’t the easiest way to make fudge – but it’s the only way to get the ‘real deal’. It also takes lots of practice, because if you over or under beat the hot fudge, it’s either a big gloopy mess or a solid lump!
Caramelisation creates flavour and colour. We use unrefined sugar because the natural sugar flavour has been retained, giving a richer caramel flavour to the taste of our sweets. And it’s fun to experiment with different types of sugar – the browner the sugar, the more molasses content it has. We love Muscovado sugar, a natural unrefined sugar that has lots of molasses left in – which gives a lovely treacly flavour to sweets.
If you like your sweets to have a strong, toasted caramel flavour, cook them for as long as you can without burning. It’s risky (we’ve learnt the hard way!) but worth it if you’re after a more grown-up taste. By the way, we believe our copper pans help deepen the caramel flavour of our sweets as copper is such a good conductor of heat. Which is probably why copper has always been used in traditional sweet making.
Why don’t you give it a go yourself. Here’s a quick temperature guide to caramelising sugar:
Extra hard crack – Temp. 168°C
Slight colour; shatters like glass during cooling; no flavour change. Used in hard sweets.
Light Caramel – Temp. 180°C
Pale amber to golden brown; rich flavour.
Medium Caramel – Temp 180°-188°C
Golden brown to chestnut brown; rich flavour.
Dark Caramel – Temp 188°-204°C
Very dark and bitter.
