Okay, so today I wanna share my little adventure with making “dulce sugar.” It’s not some fancy recipe or anything, just a thing I kinda stumbled into while messing around in the kitchen.
It all started last week. I had a bunch of leftover sugar – the regular, granulated kind. And, I was watching some cooking show where they talked about caramelized sugar. Got me thinking, “Hmm, I wonder what happens if I just… cook the sugar by itself?”
So, I grabbed a small saucepan – a non-stick one, because I’m not crazy – and dumped in about a cup of sugar. No water, no butter, nothing else. Just plain sugar. I put it on low heat. Now, this is the important part: low and slow is key.
At first, nothing much happened. The sugar just sat there, looking all innocent. But after a while, like maybe 5-10 minutes, I started seeing the edges get a little melty. That’s when you gotta pay attention.
I took a wooden spoon – a silicone one would probably work too – and very gently started pushing the melted sugar towards the center. You don’t wanna stir it like crazy, just encourage it to melt evenly. It kinda clumps up at first, but don’t panic.
As more sugar melts, it’ll start to turn a light amber color. This is where it gets interesting. The color deepens pretty quickly, and the smell… oh man, the smell is amazing! It’s like toasted marshmallows and caramel all rolled into one.
Now, here’s the tricky part. You gotta watch it like a hawk. The sugar can go from perfectly caramelized to burnt-to-a-crisp in a matter of seconds. I mean, seriously, seconds. I’ve learned this the hard way, let me tell you.
I wanted a deep amber color, but definitely not burnt. So, when it looked about right – maybe a little darker than maple syrup – I yanked it off the heat. And I mean yanked it. I didn’t want any residual heat to keep cooking it.
Then, I had a sheet of parchment paper ready. I carefully poured the molten sugar onto the parchment and spread it out into a thin layer. It hardens up pretty fast, so you gotta work quickly.
Once it was cool and completely solid, I just broke it into shards. That’s the “dulce sugar” part. It’s basically caramelized sugar candy. I tried a piece. Holy moly, it was good! Sweet, but with a slightly bitter, toasty edge. Addictive, really.
Here’s what I learned:
- Low heat is your friend. Seriously, don’t rush it.
- Watch it like a hawk. Burnt sugar is nasty.
- Have parchment paper ready. You need somewhere to pour the hot sugar.
I’ve been using it to top desserts, stir into coffee, and even just snacking on it straight. It’s a fun little thing to make, and it adds a nice touch to a lot of stuff.
I’m thinking next time I might try adding a pinch of sea salt before it hardens. That could be pretty awesome. I’ll keep you posted!
