Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew

Before you start

The appeal of a salted caramel cream topping is contrast: a thick, sweet, slightly salty cap on top of plain, dark cold brew. The cream is frothed until it holds its shape and sits on the coffee instead of sinking, so the first sips are mostly caramel cream and the last are mostly coffee.

The flavor comes from real caramel, not just sugar. Taking sugar to a deep amber color builds bitterness and toasty notes that stand up to coffee, and a measured pinch of salt makes those flavors taste rounder. Stop the caramel too early and it tastes merely sweet; take it too far and it turns acrid. The color cue in the steps is the most important part of the recipe.

Ingredients

• Salted caramel syrup100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) water — for cooking the sugar
• 100 ml (3½ oz) hot water — to loosen the caramel
• ¾ tsp fine sea salt
• Caramel cream80 ml (⅓ cup) heavy cream, cold
• 40 ml (about 3 tbsp) 2% or whole milk, cold
• 30 ml (1 oz) salted caramel syrup
• Drinks180 ml (6 oz) cold brew concentrate — see vanilla sweet cream cold brew for a recipe
• 180 ml (6 oz) cold water
• 2 cups (about 300 g) ice cubes
• pinch flaky sea salt — for the top

Method

1. Put the sugar and 30 ml water in the saucepan and set it over medium heat. Swirl the pan, without stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup boils.
2. Let it cook, swirling occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes. Watch closely as it turns pale gold, then amber. Take it off the heat when it is the color of a dark copper penny and smells toasty, not burnt.
3. Stand back and pour in the 100 ml hot water. The caramel will spit and steam hard. Return to low heat and stir until any hardened bits dissolve, about 1 minute. Stir in the fine salt.
4. Pour the syrup into a heatproof jar and let it cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Hot syrup would melt the cream instead of letting it foam.
5. Combine the cold heavy cream, milk and 30 ml of caramel syrup in a tall cup. Froth with a handheld frother for 20 to 30 seconds, moving it up and down, until thick and pourable like melted ice cream. In a French press, pump the plunger 15 to 20 times.
6. Fill two glasses with ice. Divide the cold brew concentrate and water between them and stir.
7. Spoon or pour the caramel cream on top of each drink. Finish with a tiny pinch of flaky salt and serve without stirring.

Tips for success

• A light-colored pan makes it much easier to judge the caramel color. In a dark pan, spoon a drop onto a white plate to check.
• Always add the hot water off the heat and at arm's length. Molten sugar is far hotter than boiling water and causes serious burns.
• Taste the syrup once it cools. Salt preferences vary a lot; start with ¾ teaspoon and add more in pinches.
• Cold cream foams far better than warm. Keep the cream and milk in the fridge until the moment you froth.

Substitutions

Homemade caramel syrup

Store-bought caramel syrup works; add a pinch of salt per drink. Thick caramel sauce must be thinned with a little warm water first or it will sink in clumps.

Heavy cream

Half-and-half makes a lighter cream that froths less and settles faster. Skip the milk and froth a little longer.

Cold brew

Strong chilled coffee or a flash-brewed iced coffee works, though it is brighter and more acidic than cold brew.

Variations

Hot salted caramel latte

Stir 20 ml of the syrup into a double espresso and top with steamed milk.

Brown butter caramel

Melt 10 g butter into the caramel just after adding the hot water for a nuttier syrup; refrigerate and use within 1 week.

Troubleshooting

The caramel seized into hard crystals

Sugar crystals on the pan wall fell back in, or it was stirred too early. Add 30 ml water and warm gently until it dissolves, then cook again without stirring.

The syrup tastes burnt and bitter

It went past deep amber. There is no rescue; start again and pull it off the heat a little sooner, because it keeps darkening in the hot pan.

The caramel cream will not thicken

It was warm, or the syrup was added hot. Chill everything for 15 minutes and froth again.

Storage

Refrigerate the cooled caramel syrup in a sealed jar for up to about 2 weeks; it thickens when cold, so warm it slightly before measuring. Make the caramel cream to order. Do not leave dairy-topped drinks out for more than 2 hours.