If you’re looking for a delicious cake that will impress your guests, then you should try the caramel cake from this article. Its delicate flavor and intricate design will leave them speechless.
Caramel cake decorations are not expensive at all, not very difficult, and do not require additional costs for ingredients. But the effect of such decorations will definitely surpass all your expectations.
Geometric volumetric patterns, exquisite decorations of caramel balls, flowers and crowns – that’s what distinguishes the product from the others and gives it a special charm of exclusivity.
If you want to cook a dessert with caramel decorations – read the article to the end and apply our tips in practice. Then the desired result will not keep you waiting.
The secrets of making dessert décor
Use a cookware with a thick bottom to make the decor. This is necessary so that you do not burn the caramel before it is cooked.
Take a glass of cold water, a wooden stick, and clear the space on which we will make our decoration. You can also use, for example, a silicone mat.
So, here we go. What do we need? Measure 220 grams of granulated sugar, 100 grams of glucose syrup (you can buy it in a pastry store “Pecan” – the link is at the end of the article) and 70 grams of water.
Now pour the resulting syrup into a saucepan and put on medium heat. It is not allowed to stir. Only occasionally we can tilt the saucepan.
Ready caramel is heated to about 150 degrees Celsius.
We wait for the caramel syrup to boil, and then cook it for 5 – 7 minutes. The cooking time will depend on the strength of the stove heating and the quality of the cookware itself.
How to check the readiness of the caramel
We dip a wooden stick into the caramel syrup and then immediately cool it in a glass with cold water. If you hear that the caramel cracks, then – it is ready. Knock it on a hard surface. It should be as fragile as glass. Stiff caramel is a sign that it has not yet had time to cook. In this case, you need to cook more.
In no case should the caramel darken. Here we should be very careful. Also it will be bad if you do not finish cooking it, the caramel will be sticky and will not be able to take the shape we want.
After the substance is cooked, you can add to it a little bit of the desired coloring. It is convenient to use gel, because it dissolves very quickly. Then stir our ready solution.
Now you can proceed to the formation of balls, crowns and other various caramel decorations.
To do this, we pour the syrup into molds or put it on a special silicone mat. To make round caramel lollipops, use a spoon.
A very beautiful decor from caramel is a fragile, as if glass, volumetric vase. To prepare it is simple enough. Let’s take a glass, turn it over, put a silicone mat on top, bend it to the shape of our future vase and then pour the caramel.
It is important to wait until the caramel has completely frozen. After that, we remove the silicone mat. The vase is ready. In this way, you can make any elegant caramel design.
“The peculiarity of working with caramel – do everything quickly and carefully.”
When it begins to solidify, you need to heat it over a low heat. Don’t forget to stir, you don’t have to! Otherwise the caramel will begin to darken.
To ensure that the substance does not leak on the cake or brownie, it is important to use the right coating for the confectionery. This can be chocolate ganache, very heavy cream, or a coating of mastic.
After all, caramel is a thin thing, so we advise decorating the cake or brownie just before serving. So it will not spread from contact with the product and the humidity of the air.
How best to attach the caramel to the dessert?
It depends primarily on the coating of the dessert. If it is a greasy cream, then you need to attach the caramel decoration, too. Pay attention to the fact that the cake is frozen, otherwise the caramel will become wet and will leak.
To attach the caramel decoration to another piece of caramel, use plain water. Lubricate the decorations with water and leave them to harden together. And then attach it to the any cake.