Caramel Apples Recipe – a.k.a Toffee Apples
When I was younger, at Halloween I tended to shy away from caramel apples and gravitate more towards apples covered in milk chocolate. The caramel apples of my youth in small town Ireland tended to be slightly sticky and as a result just taste like unflavoured sugar. This recipe is not that recipe. By allowing the sugar to fully caramelise and give that bitter edge paired with a sprinkle of sea salt or a drizzle of dark chocolate really gives it a more intense, interesting flavour profile.
A few tips to consider when making this caramel;
1. Do not stir this at any time. Stirring this mixture will agitate the sugar and crystallise resulting in a grainy, dull caramel. Swirl the pan around instead.
2. Ensure your apples are set up and you are ready to dip when the caramel reaches temperature. This caramel can go from being the perfect shade of dark amber to burnt real quick. Take it off the heat immediately when ready and work quickly. Keep the pan close to the baking paper for catch any drips.
3. Bring it to hard crack stage. Make sure to check your caramel is done by either using a candy thermometer or testing in a glass of cold water. If it totally hardens, it’s done. If there’s still a little give or it’s soft in any way, continue cooking. An underdone caramel will result in a unpleasant sticky coating.
While the caramel was hot on some of the apples, I dipped them into sprinkles or chopped roasted hazelnuts. Some I drizzled over melted dark chocolate and sprinkled nuts or sea salt on. There’s many different ways to decorate these depending on your taste. One of my favourite content creators, Katie Pix has a super informative video on how to make and dip caramel apples, my recipe is very similar! Check it out below for more info.
Candied Caramel Apples
Ingredients
- 6-8 small eating apples
- 500 grams white sugar (caster or granulated is fine)
- 150 ml water
- 75 grams golden syrup
- melted dark chocolate for decoration
- chopped roasted nuts for decoration
- sprinkles for decoration
- sea salt for decoration
Instructions
- Wash the apples well to remove any wax, take out any stalks, dry well and stick a lollipop stick through the middle of each one.
- In a heavy based saucepan, add the water, sugar and golden syrup. Start on a low heat until the sugar is melted and turn up to medium to bring it to a slow boil.
- Allow the sugar to cook for 10-15 minutes, swirling the pot often to ensure it doesn't burn.
- Cook to hard crack stage (138°c or 280°f). Test to see if it's ready by dropping a little into cold water. If it totally hardens, it's ready. If it's still a little soft or chewy, continue cooking further.
- Take the caramel off the heat and allow to cool slightly, just enough until the bubbles subside.
- Tip the saucepan in one direction to pool the caramel onto one side and dip each apple in, rotating to cover it all.
- Allow the excess caramel to run off the apple back into the saucepan and place directly onto a lined baking sheet to cool. You can dip the bottoms of the apples directly into sprinkles or nuts before placing on the baking sheet also.
- You can remelt the caramel at any time if it starts to harden during this process. Warm on a low heat, swirling the pan often,
- Decorate with drizzled chocolate, nuts, sprinkles or sea salt.
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