I don’t think it would come a surprise to anyone that I have a slightly morbid curiousity regarding combining garlic and sweet things.

Having fallen in love with Odile’s fleur de sel caramels, I’d intended to make a homemade batch for quite some time.   But, I also adore old school Mack Toffee, and had been considering how best to copycat that.  As a child it was one of my most favourite treats, and one that I could always count on my dad to buy for me because he loved it, too.

Then it dawned on me.

I shouldn’t make caramel or a toffee.  Gar-amel-ic was the answer; a roasted garlic infused caramel toffee.  The real conundrum was how to get the garlic into the toffee without having actual bits of garlic floating around in it.  Since my tea infusion worked out so well the other day, it seemed like a smart jumping off point for garlic infusions, too.

I again turned to Alice Medrich as my guide, since her take on brownies hadn’t steered me wrong.

In my version though, I roasted a head of garlic in the oven first until gooey, then I simmered some cream and let the roasted garlic steep (in a cheesecloth) for the better part of half an hour.  Once done I fished it out and squeezed out the cream, which had the somewhat undesired effect of releasing some of the garlic puree into the cream as well.

From there on out, it was business as usual, which just meant an ungodly amount of stirring until the temperature was just right.

Well, actually, we went about 15 seconds north of just right, but it got poured out onto a Silpat and chilled for a few hours anyway.

Once it was hardened, yet pliable, I began scoring and chipping and slicing it into bite-sized pieces.  Note to anyone planning to undertake this recipe – it is wise to err on the side of Mack Toffee-sized, since each piece needs to be individually wrapped in paper (waxed or parchment) in order to keep it from sticking to itself.  Unless of course you enjoy that sort of mind-numbingly boring busy work; in that case, go nuts and make them as tiny as your heart desires!

You’re probably wondering how they taste, right?

Well, I think they’re lovely, but the Everyman probably said it best.  They’re surprisingly garlicky at first blush, but then the sugar kicks in as a mid-note and mellows it all out.  The caramel is probably a half shade darker than I would have liked, but I think its brulee-like qualities meld perfectly with garlic.

Coincidentally enough, it would make a wonderfully wicked Halloween trickish treat, but I can tell you right now, I have no intention of sharing.

Foodie’s Gar-amel-ic

1 head garlic

olive oil

2 c. heavy cream

2 c. sugar

1 c. golden corn syrup

1.5 tsp ground vanilla beans

0.5 tsp sea salt

3 tbsp butter, chunked

Preheat oven to 350*.  Cut the top off the head of garlic, place on a square of foil and drizzle generously with olive oil.  Crumple the foil around the garlic and roast in the oven until soft and gooey, about 1 hour.  Remove from oven, squeeze roasted cloves out into a square of cheesecloth and tie off.  Bring the 2 cups of heavy cream to a simmer, then remove from heat and add the cheesecloth full of garlic.  Steep off the heat, covered, for 30 minutes.

Combine the syrup, sugar and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula, until the mixture begins to simmer around the edges.  Wash the sugar and syrup from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water.  Cover and cook for about 3 minutes.  (Meanwhile, rinse the spatula or spoon before using it again later.)  Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more.  Attach the candy thermometer to the pan, without letting it touch the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered (without stirring) until the mixture reaches 305°F.

Meanwhile, remove the steeped garlic bag from the cream, squeezing well, then combine the garlic cream with ground vanilla beans and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan.  Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.  When the sugar mixture reaches 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks.  Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically, so be careful.  Turn the burner back on and adjust it so that the mixture boils energetically but not violently.  Stir until any thickened syrup at the bottom of the pan is dissolved and the mixture is smooth.  Continue to cook, (stirring occasionally) to about 245°F.  Then cook, (stirring constantly) to 260°F for soft, chewy caramels or 265°F for firmer chewy caramels.  Pour the caramel onto a Silpat-lined pan.  Let set for 4 to 5 hours, or overnight until firm.

Once firm, slice (or chip, depending on your desired consistency) the caramel sheet into your desired morsel size.  Wrap each piece in a strip of waxed or parchment paper to keep the caramels from sticking together.

Makes 1 sheet pan of caramel; approximately 80 1-inch caramels.

Until next time…

Tags: Alice Medrich, Baking, caramel, garlic, New Projects, Recipes

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 2:15 am and is filed under Baking, New Projects, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.