What I like most about this caramel is the balance the salt provides; you taste caramel, not sugar. The key to making this is cooking the honey long enough so it just crosses from being sweet to bitter. You could use this as a crunchy topping for ice cream. Or pour it into a ring mold when you make it and use it as a layer in a cake.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 2 1/2 cups

　　2/3 cup (200g) honey

　　1/4 teaspoon (1g) coarse salt

　　2 2/3 tablespoons (37g) unsalted butter

　　1/2 cup (120g) heavy cream

　　5 1/4 ounces (150g) unsalted peanuts, chopped and toasted

　　5 1/4 ounces (150g) hazelnuts, chopped and toasted

　　Milk, if needed

　　

Step 1

Line a baking sheet with a Silpat.

　　

Step 2

Put the honey and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan, until the honey caramelizes and turns dark amber. Stir in the butter. Add the cream and cook, stirring, until smooth. Stir in the nuts. If the caramel is very thick—too thick to stir—thin it with a little milk.

　　

Step 3

Scrape out onto the Silpat and use two forks to break the caramel up into small pieces while it’s still warm. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

　　Reprinted with permission from Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Copyright © 2008 by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Published by Crown Publishing. All Rights Reserved.Johnny Iuzzini,, executive pastry chef of the world-renowned Jean Georges restaurant in New York City, won the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef from the James Beard Foundation in 2006. This is his first book.Roy Finamore, a publishing veteran of more than thirty years, has worked with many bestselling cookbook authors. He is the author of three books: One Potato, Two Potato; Tasty, which won a James Beard Foundation award; and Fish Without a Doubt.__