It's Volunteer Appreciation Day once again - the 4th annual at the Morrill Memorial Library and I'm making candy this year.I'm a bit nervous because I'm not a candy maker and I don't trust those candy thermometers. But I'm risky and my oven is broken so stovetop is the real deal this year.
Update! They were delicious. I assembled them in wide, shallow muffin cups I found at IKEA. I made two matches from the ingredients I had leftover for neighbors.
3/4 c evaporated milk
3/4 c plus 1 T granulated sugar
1/3 c heavy whipping cream
1/2 vanilla bean, slit open and seeds scraped out, pod reserved 1/4 tsp. vanilla paste or 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
80-100 toasted pecan halves
1/2 c. light corn syrup
2 T unsalted butter
2 cups chopped dark chocolate (13 oz) OR
2 cups chopped dark chocolate and 1/3 c. clear oil
1-1/2 t coarse sea salt
Maldon sea salt for garnish
Stir together the sugar, evaporated milk, heavy cream, and vanilla bean and seeds in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, uncovered and without stirring.
While this caramel mixture is heating up, arrange the nuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place 4-5 whole pecans in a star shape for each turtle.
Once the caramel mixture has come to a boil, insert the candy thermometer. Add the light corn syrup and stir gently with the heatproof spatula until everything is mixed well. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring often and making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to keep the mixture from burning, until the mixture reaches 230 degrees F (thread stage) about 30 minutes.
Add the butter to the caramel mixture and fish out the vanilla bean. Stirring continuously, cook the caramel until it reaches 241 degrees F (soft-to-firm ball stage), 15-20 minutes; it will be a deep tawny color and have slow, rolling bubbles in the center. Remove it from the heat.
Stir in the salt and the vanilla paste or extract, making sure to mix well so that they are distributed evenly. Allow it to cool for about 5 minutes, stirring it a couple of times, until it thickens up a little bit and has the consistency of hot fudge.
Pour a couple tablespoons' worth of caramel onto each pecan cluster. Allow them to set up until they are no longer warm, about 20 min.
Meanwhile, temper the 2 cups of chocolate or use the 2 cups of chocolate and 1/3 c. oil to make Cheater's Chocolate* coating.
Once the caramel has set up, pour some of the prepared chocolate into the clean funnel. Top each turtle with about a T of chocolate. The turtles' heads and feet should be visible. When the turtle chocolate is completely cooled but not enough to be hard: Garnish with a few flakes of sea salt. You don't want the sea salt to melt into the chocolate but you do want it to stick.
Cheater's Chocolate Coating:
Melt the chocolate by placing it in a medium-size microwave-safe bowl and heat it in the microwave on High for 20 seconds. Stir the chocolate with a whisk or heatproof spatula, then continue heating it on High in 20-second increments, stirring after each increment, until the chocolate is completely melted.
Alternatively, use a double boiler over simmering water, allowing the chocolate to melt, stirring occasionally until it's completely liquid and there are no lumps (15-20 min.) Remove from the heat and slowly stir in the oil (sunflower or safflower) until it is completely incorporated. Keep the coating warm by setting the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until you're almost ready to use it; then remove it from the heat and allow it to cool until it has the consistency of warm fudge sauce - 15-20 minutes.
