Cracked Glass Caramel
Cracked Glass Caramel is so delicious when sprinkled over ice cream sundaes, cupcakes, and desserts topped with whipped topping. It takes no time to make, and looks like a beautiful piece of amber stained glass.
The next time you want something besides sprinkles for ice cream sundaes or cupcakes, reach for this simple recipe for cracked glass caramel. It’s not just delicious. It’s sparkling and pretty when broken into glistening amber shards and sprinkled over desserts.
How to make cracked glass caramel
First, line a rimmed cookie sheet with a nonstick baking mat and set it aside. Now get ready to make the caramel…
Ingredients
Two simple ingredients! Can you believe it? This delicious caramel is made with 1 ingredient, 2 if you count the water. WOW!
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons water
Directions
- Add sugar and water to a small saucepan. Use a spoon or spatula to gently mix the water and sugar together until all the sugar is wet. It will look like wet sand.
- Cover the pan with a lid. Heat it over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes covered and remove the lid.
- Cook while frequently swishing the mixture around in the pan, until it is dark amber in color. This will happen quickly. It will go from light to dark within seconds, so watch it closely. See the pictures above and how the color keeps changing and getting darker. It does this rather quickly, so don’t walk away leave it.
Sugar Crystallization
When cooking sugar and water over high heat, you need to be aware of how sugar crystals affect the finished caramel. They create a sugary ring around the insides of the pan. This in turn, can get into the cooked candy There are 2 simple ways to prevent sugar crystals from forming on the sides of the pan.
- Place a lid on the pan, bring it to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes covered. This will create steam, and the steam will wash down the sides of the pan, preventing sugar crystals from forming on the sides. Don’t leave the lid on the pan after 2 minutes. The water needs to evaporate from the sugar and can’t do this with the lid on.
- Use a wet pastry brush and frequently brush down the insides of the pan.
4. Immediately pour the mixture onto the baking sheet, spreading it thin with a spoon or spatula. Allow the caramel to cool completely.
5. Once cooled, use a serrated knife to chop the caramel into small shards. If you prefer smaller bits of caramel, you can place the caramel shards in a ziploc bag and crush them into tiny pieces with a rolling pin.
Tips for this recipe
- You can make the caramel a day or two in advance. Break it up when you make it and keep it in a sealed bag or container.
- Do not sprinkle the caramel pieces on the top of desserts topped with whipped cream or ice cream until you’re ready to serve the dessert or the caramel chards will start to melt into the topping.
- Store the cooled and broken candy in a ziploc bag for 2 to 3 days at room temperature. I don’t suggest refrigerating the candy. It will begin sticking together after a day or so in the refrigerator.
- Use a heavy bottomed pan with a secure handle to cook the candy. Make sure to not get the hot caramel on your skin.
- When adding the sugar and water to the saucepan, make sure to pour the sugar into the center of the pan first, then slowly pour the water over it, making sure to not splash any sugar crystals onto the sides.
You can use this caramel to decorate so many different desserts. I sprinkled the caramel shards on the pie above just before serving it, so they wouldn’t melt into the whipped cream.
More yummy recipes with caramel…
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Cracked Glass Caramel
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1/2 cup 1x
- Category: candy
- Method: cook
- Cuisine: American
Description
Cracked Glass Caramel takes no time to make and can be broken into tiny chards and used to decorate the top of ice cream, ice cream sundaes, desserts with whipped topping…the list is endless. It’s also SO pretty!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Line a rimmed cookie sheet with a nonstick baking mat and set aside.
- Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan, and gently mix until all of the sugar is wet. It will look like wet sand. Make sure to not splash any of the wet sugar up on the sides of the pan. If that happens, use a wet pastry brush to wash down the insides of the pan. Keep washing down the insides of the pan with a pastry brush throughout the cooking process to prevent sugar from crystallizing on the insides of the pan. A second option is to cover the mixture with a lid after it boils and remove it after 2 minutes. The steam will wash down the insides of the pan. Heat it over medium-high heat and cook while swishing the mixture around in the pan, until the mixture is dark amber in color. This will happen quickly. It will go from light to dark within seconds, so watch it closely.
- Immediately pour the mixture onto the baking sheet, spreading thin with a spoon or spatula. Allow the caramel to cool completely, and use a serrated knife to chop it into tiny pieces.
- Sprinkle the candy bits over your favorite desserts, such as ice cream sundaes and desserts with whipped toppings. Do this when you’re ready to serve the dessert. If you do it ahead of time, the caramel bits will start to melt into the topping.
Notes
- Be very careful when making this recipe. This caramel gets extremely hot and can cause a bad burn on your skin.