Chocolate Caramels Recipe on Food52 (2024)

I halved the recipe and didn't perfectly stick with the chocolate percentages given (because that was kind of unnecessary), but the recipe seems pretty perfect. I have had a very difficult time finding a consistently good and successful chocolate caramel recipe. I will be very excited if this works as ideally, again and again.

I have a 9 x 13 tin; a jelly roll tin; an 8 x 8 and a 9 x 9 tin. The largest tin that I could find to buy, that was closest to the 16 x 12 measurement, was a 17 1/4 x 12 1/4. Would any of my tins work or should I buy the large tin? I do not want to halve the recipe and use an 8 x 8 tin unless I can use 2 8 x 8 tins to make the original amount of caramels. Please advise! Thanks!

I have made this recipe three times now over the last few years - they really are always a hit. I did the same as other reviewers and used a combination of 'Dark', 'Very Dark', and 'Bittersweet' chocolate as the percentages are sometimes hard to find. I will say that this last attempt I got the chocolate up to 240 degrees and stopped my cooking then - big mistake. They did not set up at all -- gooey mess! However, if you make my same mistake, a google search told me to reheat the caramel in a buttered put and bring it back up to the proper temperature of 244/245 degrees. It worked and it did not burn. Just be sure to stir constantly. Also **be aware** there is such a thing about sugar 'plateauing' at at certain temperature for a seemingly long time before increasing. This recipe does take some time for the mixture to get to the correct temp. It also does give off quite a bit of heat/steam. Be careful, sometimes I wear gloves.

Mel November 5, 2022

Absolutely great! Made them yesterday and loved them! Addictive for sure! Thank you for the recipe!
How long can you refrigerate or freeze?

I cannot say enough good things about this recipe! Most chocolate caramel recipes either have a low amount of chocolate (and thus a weak flavor), or are gritty. These have a strong, deep chocolate flavor, and are buttery and smooth. If they don’t come out amazing for you, calibrate your thermometer. I’ve made this dozens of times and it’s always been perfect.

I made these yesterday, halving the recipe, and it was my first time making any kind of caramel that isn’t a sauce. They came out perfectly. Based on the comments, I cooked to 245 F and that was perfect. I was thrown off by the description of semi-sweet chocolate at 30-40% cocoa solids, which I uniformly see listed as milk chocolate. Semi-sweet is 50-65ish% and bittersweet is 70-85ish%. I hedged my bets and used 3 oz 34% (milk), 2 oz 60% (semi), and 4 oz 82% (bitter). For anyone who makes these I would recommend semi-sweet and bittersweet based on the cocoa solid percentages as noted above. The milk chocolate made the flavor more mild/less chocolatey. Other than that confusion this recipe was well written, easy to follow, and was a complete success!

just made this the other day, the best ever!! couldn't stop eating it while I wrapped it. Took it to work, it was gone in a flash, everyone loved it. Making it again today. couple points in the recipe to stress: usually when I made caramels, I don't stir after it comes to a boil, I did follow the constant stir instructions here. I think the chocolate would make it burn on the bottom too much otherwise as I already had a slight burned coat on the bottom. I did take it to 248 degrees, like I do on my usual caramels, that worked out fine for me. After is cooled slightly, I sprinkled generously with flaked salt and cut the next day. It's a lot of chocolate!! It tastes sooo great!!

the flavor of the caramels are delicious. my last chocolate caramel attempt turned to rock, therefore, I was a little hesitant in cooking until 245 degrees. I immediately took it off the stove at 240. it was a bit soft. next time I will cook to 243-245. any others deal with this. also, I sprayed my parchment paper quite heavily and it still stuck a bit. had to refrigerate a bit before cutting. that worked like a charm. next time I think I will use only 70% chocolate for a more intense chocolate flavor. any tips on cooking temp would be welcomed. thanks so much. thank you for the recipe. :)

no , that is more semi sweet's range iirc.

KC December 11, 2016

Wouldn'yt bittersweet chocolate be in the 56-60% range? I sure hope someone is out there, as all the other comments are from 2 years ago. I have never see chocolate in the 30 to 40% range.

Please stop using cups!!! Or at least put grams as well, it is so much more accurate. Please thank you

I started making caramels for holiday gifts last year after years of making peanut brittle. As this article says, the stirring is exactly opposite for these two candies - constant after peanut brittle comes to a boil, none once caramel boils. However, it takes much longer for caramel to reach 250 than for peanut brittle to reach 300 on the candy thermometer. It might be helpful for readers if you addressed the effect of different types of cream - light vs. heavy vs. whipping.

can this recipe be reduced?
i am nervous about messing it up and would like to try a smaller batch

I am thinking about using glucose instead of corn syrup for this recipe. Would this work just as well if not better than the corn syrup?

Could i halve the recipe and still use the same size pan to cool the caramel in? Or will it affect the way it cools and the final texture?

Dona February 6, 2015

What size pot do you use? I make a smaller batch of caramels in a 4 quart pan and it bubbles furiously, as it's supposed to. Will a 4 qt pan be big enough?

p.s. i should have begun by saying how psyched i am to see this recipe of yours! th you.

erin, plse tell us how you came out with your dark/bittersweet chocolate ratio. Did you try other combinations, with a higher % of dark chocolate? I ask because i have tried adapting another chocolate caramels recipe- and only using 70% dark chocolate ,and the mixture separated both times. IIRC it was a 52er who said i couldn't successfully use that high a %. Thx much.