Rose Infused Homemade Caramel Candy Recipe
Elevate your confectionery skills with our Rose Infused Homemade Caramel Candy recipe, a delicate blend of floral elegance and rich caramel sweetness, perfect for crafting irresistible treats at home.
About the time Valentine’s Day hits, so does my (Alyssa’s) desire for spring weather.
While I’m sure that it’s mostly due to the fact that I’m so over wearing big puffy coats, I also think it’s slightly triggered by all the Valentine’s Day flowers. I mean, February is basically the unofficial month of roses, right?!
This is also coming from people who are no stranger to edible flower recipes. While you may prefer your blooms to be in a vase, I find adding them to my food to be a nice change of pace and the perfect way to encourage spring to come quickly.
And though the process is a bit intense, they’re well worth the effort. Once you’ve mastered candy making, it all seems fairly easy, which is why we later found it quite easy to make Dalgona candy! After all, it doesn’t get much sweeter than combining candies and flowers into one!
However you typically prefer to enjoy your flowers, I promise that these rose-infused homemade caramels are a treat no one will be able to resist.
Stopping to smell the roses is nice and all. But stopping to eat the roses (aka enjoy a sweet bite) is way more fun!
As they say, sharing is caring. And since this recipe makes a lot, you should definitely share! Plus, these caramels are a hardy candy that needs no refrigeration.
So they’re a perfect treat/present to ship to dear ones that might not be near, especially as a long distance Valentine’s Day gift idea.
While I’ve had many a caramel candy, the delicate rose flavor in these provide a sweet change of pace. What are your thoughts on roses/flowers in food? Are you a fan, or do you prefer them in a vase?
Ingredients to Make Rose Infused Caramels and Where to Find Them
- Heavy cream
- Vanilla
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Corn syrup
- Granulated white sugar
- Brown sugar — Optional if you want to just use another cup of granulated white sugar.
- Rose water
- Edible dried rose petals — You can find rose water and rose petals either at a health food or spice/herb store or in the middle eastern/Turkish food section of your grocery market.
- Maldon sea salt flakes — Optional for topping. It’s a nice salty element to balance the candy’s sweetness.
How to Store Homemade Caramels
Whatever you don’t eat or share, store homemade caramel candies in an airtight container to prevent the caramels from getting too hard.
You can also wrap them up. Just make sure that however it is store, keep it free from moisture and away from heat or light.
They great thing about homemade caramels is that they don’t need to be kept in the fridge. They will last up to 6-9 months.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Use a heavy-bottomed pot: This helps distribute heat evenly and reduces the risk of scorching.
- Don’t stir constantly: Constant stirring can encourage sugar crystallization. Gently swirl the pot occasionally to ensure even cooking.
- Beware of sugar splatter: Hot sugar can cause burns. Wear oven mitts and avoid leaning over the pot while cooking.
- Cool completely before cutting: Caramels need to set and firm up before cutting. Chill them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until completely solid.
- Cutting and wrapping: For clean cuts, dip a sharp knife in hot water between each cut.
- Rosewater: For a more subtle rose flavor, consider adding a few drops of rosewater to the cream instead of using rose petals directly.
- Spice it up: A pinch of cardamom, cinnamon, or even a touch of saffron can add another layer of complexity to the rose flavor.
- Salty twist: A sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top of the finished caramels creates a delightful sweet and salty contrast.
Rose Infused Caramel Recipe
Equipment
- Sauce pan
- Baking pan
- Candy thermometer
Ingredients
- 2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2/3 tbsp rose water
- 1 cup corn syrup
- 1 cup brown sugar can also eliminate this and just use another cup of granulated sugar
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp dried rose petals typically be found at a spice/herb or health food store
- Maldon sea salt flakes optional for topping
- Cooking spray
Nutrition
Instructions
- To a small sauce pan, set over very low heat, add the heavy cream and rose petals. Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, to a large saucepan, add the sugars, corn syrup and 2 tablespoons of rose water. Stir just to combine, then set over high heat. Cook, without stirring, until it reaches 285°F -290°F degrees on a candy thermometer.
- While the sugar mixture is cooking, drain the cream mixture through a fine sieve to remove the rose petals (there may be a few very small pieces that remain, which is totally fine).
- Then, add the cream back to the small saucepan along with the butter and salt. Place the pan on a medium heat burner and cook, stirring every so often, until the butter has melted.
- Just as the butter is finished melting, the sugar mixture should be reaching its required temperature of 285-290 degrees. Once it does, remove it from the heat.
- Carefully, and slowly, pour in the cream mixture, whisking to combine it (be very careful of this step as the caramel will bubble up and can even pop a bit).
- Immediately, place the pan back on high heat and cook, without stirring, until the temperature on your candy thermometer reads 245-250 degrees.
- As the caramel mixture is cooking, line an 8”x 8” baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly grease it with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Once the caramel has finished cooking, remove the pan from the heat. Quickly and carefully (again, the caramel can bubble up a bit), whisk in the vanilla and 1 teaspoon of rose water.
- Immediately pour the mixture into the lined and greased baking pan. Do not scrape the sides or the bottom of the pan, just tip the pan over until the caramel stops drizzling out. Set aside and allow to cool for at least 5 hours, or overnight.
- To cut the caramels, remove the block of caramel and parchment paper from the baking pan. Place it on a cutting board, and, using a very large sharp knife, carefully slice it first into long strips that are about ¼” x ½” thick.
- Then, cut those strips into 1 ¼” x 1 ½” pieces. Sprinkle with salt flakes, if desired, and wrap in parchment or wax paper squares (I found squares that were approximately 4”x 5” worked best).
Please note that we may earn a commission for some of the above affiliate links. However, products featured are independently selected and personally well-loved by us!