Tastes like home.
It is made with butter, cream and sugar, and once it’s set, we cut it in little squares, wrap it with paper and call it a bonbon.
Guillaume Brahimi says…
Caramel d’Isigny Sur Mer is so special to me because my grandmother used to make this dish. She made beautiful caramel; it reminds me so much of her. It is made with butter, cream and sugar, and once it’s set, we cut it in little squares, wrap it with paper and call it a bonbon.
Every time I used to stay at my grandmother’s she would hide the Caramel Bonbons, and the first thing I would do when I arrived at her house was find them. I think we had a bit of an understanding: she knew I knew where they were. A special ingredient in this dish that speaks to family for me would be the butter: my grandmother never knew it was possible to have butter without salt.
When I smell certain dishes, I remember coming home from school and my mum. You don’t have to be a cook to ignite memories like that. The smell of dishes is so underrated, and memories are connected to smell.
Food is everything to me. As a good French man, I wake up in the morning to talk about dinner from the night before, and then talk about what we’re going to have for dinner that night. When I think of food I think of the produce of the four seasons. It’s a beautiful way to guide your cooking, as you always get the best produce at the right time.
Food is love. I grew up in a family where the meeting point was dinnertime at the table. We didn’t have 20 courses or expensive produce, but we used to eat and talk, and that was our way of being together. Food brings people together.
Ingredients
Makes 50 caramels
250ml thin cream
350g unsalted Beurre d’Isigny
8g sea salt flakes, plus extra to serve
500g caster sugar
100g glucose
Method
Generously spray a 24cm square cake tin with spray oil and set aside.
Combine the cream, butter and sea salt flakes in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil over high heat, then, once boiled, remove from the heat.
In a separate medium saucepan, heat the sugar and glucose over medium-high heat, carefully stirring once it turns a dark caramel colour. Taking care, gently whisk in the boiled cream and butter mixture, mixing until fully combined.
Cook the caramel to 126°C, then remove from the heat, whisking a few times.
Pour the caramel into the prepared tin and allow to cool fully at room temperature on a flat surface for at least 12 hours, or until completely set.
Once set, remove the caramel from the tin and cut into 2.5cm x 1cm rectangles. Sprinkle each piece with a few extra sea salt flakes. Serve, or wrap in non-stick wrappers.
GUILLAUME BRAHIMI’S SERIES PLAT DU TOUR is screening now ON SBS FOOD AND SBS ON DEMAND.
Published in ed#741
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