½ oz thinly sliced grapefruit peel (see Kayla’s notes)
1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup water
Cardamom Honey Caramels
oil, for baking pan
1 cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup + 2 tablespoons honey
1 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
sea salt, to garnish (I use pink Himalayan)
Instructions
Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the grapefruit peel and boil for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the peel to an ice bath (just a bowl of ice and water). While the peel cools, combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 3 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the peel from the water and add it to the simple syrup. Simmer it for about 8-10 minutes. Transfer the peel to a wire rack to dry. Toss it with a tablespoon of sugar to finish.
Brush the bottom and sides of a 9×13” baking pan with oil. Line the pan with parchment paper, making sure to leave an overhang (you’ll use the paper to pull out the caramel). Lightly coat the parchment with oil as well.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, brown sugar, butter, honey and cream. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for about 15-20 minutes, undisturbed, until the caramel reaches 250°F on a candy thermometer. It will be a deep amber color. Remove the caramel from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract, salt and cardamom. Pour the caramel onto the baking sheet and garnish with sea salt and candied grapefruit so they settle into the caramel. Let cool overnight in a cool place (not the refrigerator). Use the parchment to lift the caramel out of the pan. Cut into bite-size pieces. You can wrap the caramels using wax paper.
Notes
To make the strips of grapefruit peel, first cut off both ends of the grapefruit. Lay one of the flat ends down, and start cutting the peel from top to bottom, working your way around the grapefruit. Once the peel is removed, slice it so that you end up with thin strips.