Salted Caramel

I am in love with salted caramel! It enters your mouth with a velvety texture and the salty savoriness lingers on the tongue in a juxtaposition with sweetness . Heavenly! I have even discovered that even people who don't enjoy sweets (insert gasp here!) are enamored with the balance of sweet and salty it provides. Others, including myself, LOVE sweets and cannot contain themselves when the opportunity to mingle the sweet and salty on the palate arises. I will admit to having dipped more than my fair share of french fries or salty pretzels into a big scoop of ice cream or creamy milkshake. But regardless of what category you fall into, salted caramel has something for everyone.

Salted caramel is definitely a sensitive art, leaning more towards chemistry in my eyes: I view every batch as a new experiment. But boy is the outcome worth EVERY moment! I'll let you in on a little secret, which I feel really heightens the flavors the caramelized sugar, swirls of  rich cream, and pads of creamy, pale yellow butter: fleur de sel! Fleur de sel, which means "flower of salt" in French, is a salt that is harvested and skimmed by hand off the coast of France. This is the real deal people! What a heavenly, natural product that just highlights the best of everything, including my caramel! 

My favorite fleur de sel from Le Guerandais is spectacular! I got mine here and upon arrival I infused the fleur de sel with a robustly scented vanilla bean pod and its seeds. Vanilla Bean Fleur De Sel is born!

Keep your peepers peeled for what I am doing with this golden nectar! Thanks for popping in! Have a sweet day and remember, there is always room for cake! XOXO

Vanilla Bean Fleur De Sel