Friday, February 19, 2021

Chocolate Caramels for Anne Shirley

For the L.M. Montgomery Cooking Challenge, I decided to make Chocolate Caramels

But Anne could not eat. In vain she nibbled at the bread and butter and pecked at the crab-apple preserve out of the little scalloped glass dish by her plate. She did not really make any headway at all.

“You’re not eating anything,” said Marilla sharply, eying her as if it were a serious shortcoming. Anne sighed. 

“I can’t. I’m in the depths of despair. Can you eat when you are in the depths of despair?” 

“I’ve never been in the depths of despair, so I can’t say,” responded Marilla. 

“Weren’t you? Well, did you ever try to imagine you were in the depths of despair?” 

“No, I didn’t.” 

 “Then I don’t think you can understand what it’s like. It’s a very uncomfortable feeling indeed. When you try to eat a lump comes right up in your throat and you can’t swallow anything, not even if it was a chocolate caramel. I had one chocolate caramel once two years ago and it was simply delicious. I’ve often dreamed since then that I had a lot of chocolate caramels, but I always wake up just when I’m going to eat them. I do hope you won’t be offended because I can’t eat. Everything is extremely nice, but still I cannot eat.” 

Anne of Green Gables, Chapter III 
Chocolate Caramel Ingredients

½ cup (one stick) butter 
¾ cup heavy cream 
¾ cup corn syrup or golden syrup 
1 cup granulated sugar 
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate 
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 
Combine all ingredients except the Vanilla in a medium-sized pan and stir over medium heat until the mixture reaches 240 degrees Fahrenheit (it took me about 20 minutes). Use a candy thermometer (mine is new due to a recent batch of penuche that was delicious but did not harden). Remove from heat and stir for two more minutes before adding the Vanilla. Pour into a well-buttered pan such as an 8 x 8 glass pan. Allow to sit at room temperature for an hour, then refrigerate. 

Don’t refrigerate for too long or they may be hard to cut! I was advised to gently loosen the edges and turn the contents of the pan upside down to cut the caramels into bite-sized pieces to be wrapped in wax paper. The results are delicious – they taste like chewy fudge, which makes sense. 
The left corner is where I sampled it.  I have always meant to make caramels but never got around to it, so this was a fun project, very suitable for Mardi Gras, which is when I made them. My mother always used to make fudge that night before she gave up candy for Lent. I usually give up sarcasm for Lent, or at least try . . . don't laugh!

More L.M. Montgomery-related Posts


Marilla of Green Gables – my review 



The Bookwanderers by Anna James – my review (Anne Shirley appears in this book)

By the way, the Anne cover at the top was my very first copy, given to me by my mother the summer after sixth grade.

9 comments:

TracyK said...

Wow, that was a lot of work. Something my sister would be ambitious enough to make, but not me. It looks delicious.

Cath said...

You remind me that I've only read the first Anne book but no more. I meant to but it just didn't happen despite the fact that I loved that first one. The caramel looks wonderful!

Lex @ Lexlingua said...

Aww, there's a cooking challenge for Anne?! This looks lovely, thanks for posting this.
~ Lex (lexlingua.co)

Katrina said...

I'll be making Sticky Toffee Pudding tomorrow but I think I'll have to make time for doing this too, I have all of the ingredients.

JaneGS said...

Yum! Chocolate caramels seem like the right antidote to being in the depths of despair. Enjoy!

CLM said...

Here is Sarah Goff, a big AOGG fan, making Maud's shortbread:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR2HK4t2Yyo3qwlZt4ZnP_he0LsiqYH3l6Z4owIzGzIZtIHCn6ORGtxCnqI&v=dwkmEsEagSY&feature=youtu.be

Katrina, I love Sticky Toffee Pudding but was not 100% satisfied with the recipe I tried recently so will have to make it again soon with another. I tried it for the first time during my 20 hours in Edinburgh several years ago. I appreciated that when I couldn't decide between the restaurant's special toffee sauce and ice cream, they gave me both!

(Diane) bookchickdi said...

I've never made chocolate caramels, I should try.

Mae Travels said...

Chocolate caramels sound delicious, even if one was experiencing the depths of despair. I read the recipe for sticky toffee pudding once, and it looked like a lot of trouble, though I did like it when I had it in England.

be safe... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Susan said...

I think I eat more - especially sweets - when I'm in the depths of despair! I love caramels and have had some success (and some not success) making them. Yum.