PASS THE SALT PLEASE - and make these gorgeous golden Fleur de Sel pecan caramels this week.

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 Fleur de Sel pecan caramels

These delightful caramels are soft and chewy with a salty edge to balance against the sugary sweetness. Package them up into a tin box and wrap around some pretty ribbon and voila! You have a homemade hostess gift. You will need a candy thermometer to make these caramels; you can buy thermometers at good kitchenware stores. Image.

Makes approximately 36 pieces

• olive oil spray, for greasing

• ¾ cup cream
• 30g butter
• 1 vanilla bean, split
• ½ teaspoon Fleur de Sel
• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ cup honey
• extra, 30g butter, diced
• ½ cup roasted pecans
• extra, ¼ teaspoon Fleur de Sel

1. Line a 15 x 25cm loaf pan with baking paper and spray lightly with olive oil spray.

2. Combine the cream, butter, vanilla bean and Fleur de Sel in a small saucepan over medium heat until it comes to the boil, remove from the heat and cover with the saucepan lid to keep warm.
3. To make the caramel, combine the sugar and honey in a medium, heavy based saucepan. Stir gently over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Be careful to not let the mixture come to the boil until the sugar has dissolved or the caramel will crystalize.
4. Once the sugar has dissolved, take a pastry brush dip it in a little water and clean around the edges of the saucepan to make sure there are no sugar crystals on the sides of the saucepan.
5. Place in the candy thermometer and bring to a rapid simmer, cook until the syrup reaches 155ºC (310ºF) on the candy thermometer,
6. Remove from the heat. Carefully pour the cream mixture into the caramel, stir well and then remove the vanilla bean.

7. Return to a medium heat and cook the caramel until it reaches 127ºC (260ºF). Remove from the heat and stir through the diced butter and pecans. Mix until the butter has melted. Pour into the prepared pan, sprinkle with the extra Fleur de Sel and allow to set at room temperature.

8. Once cool remove from the pan and slice into bite size pieces.

9. Store in a cool dark place, individually wrap in wax paper to prevent sticking together.

food dept. fact: Fleur de sel is French for ‘flower of salt’. It is hand harvested from saltpans along the coast of Brittany and is available at specialty stores. If you can’t find it you can use flaked sea salt.

To buy Fleur de sel and other amazing salt mixes online try our friends at the saltbox 
www.thesaltbox.com.au

Recipes: Sally Courtney, Art direction: Anne Marie Cummins.