Golden pecan caramels
Makes: 40
Prep time: 20Total time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Golden pecan caramels
Gold sparkle adds a lovely festive feel to these creamy caramels, flavoured with an array of Christmas spices. Wrap them individually and pile into bowls for a festive gathering, or pop them into a jar or gift bag for presents
Makes: 40
Prep time: 20Total time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
102Kcal
Fat
7gr
Saturates
4gr
Carbs
10gr
Sugars
10gr
Fibre
0gr
Protein
0gr
Salt
0.3gr
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our former Junior Food Editor. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our former Junior Food Editor. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Ingredients
- 40 whole pecans
- flavourless oil, to grease
- 300ml double cream
- 225g golden caster sugar
- 100g butter
- 225g golden syrup
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 10 cardamom pods, seeds ground
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1½ tsp sea salt flakes
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- gold edible glitter spray
You will also need
- a cook’s thermometer
Step by step
To store
Store wrapped caramels in an airtight container in a cool place (not the fridge) for up to 2 weeks.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Put the pecans on a small baking tray and toast in the oven for about 8 minutes or until they are smelling nicely nutty. Set aside to cool (you can turn the oven off as it’s not needed again).
- Grease and line a 20cm square baking tin with baking paper. Put the cream, caster sugar, butter and golden syrup in a large saucepan. Dissolve the sugar over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Increase the heat to medium and bubble the mixture, swirling the pan occasionally but not stirring, for about 15-20 minutes or until the mixture turns dark golden and reaches 125°C on a cook’s thermometer (hard ball stage).
- Immediately remove from the heat and swiftly stir in all the spices, the salt flakes and the vanilla, until combined. Pour into the prepared tin, tilting so it reaches the corners and settles in an even layer. Cool for 10 minutes at room temperature.
- Meanwhile, coat the toasted pecans with the gold edible glitter spray. Arrange on top of the caramel mixture, close together and in about 5 rows, and cool at room temperature until set firm; this will take about 4 hours. Once set, use a sharp, lightly oiled knife to slice into 40 bite-size pieces and wrap individually in twists of baking paper. See ‘To store’ tip box, above.
