Preparing caramel decoration is more than easy, but it requires a little more patience, the necessary heat on the stove, which should be moderate, sugar and the appropriate utensils.
You need to have a fork with long tines, it is precisely with it that the sugar threads are pulled, a large ladle, slightly greased on the outside, to prepare such a beautiful basket of caramel, a long metal round handle for preparing the angel hair and a large piece of baking paper or aluminum foil.
The products needed are: granulated sugar - about 120 g and a little oil for greasing the ladle.
Place the sugar in a saucepan over moderate heat. Wait for it to melt and when it starts to melt, use a long wooden spatula to loosen its bottom layer in the saucepan to allow for proper melting. It is prepared until dark caramel is obtained, because it should contrast beautifully on the pastry.
Once it is ready, remove it from the heat, leave it for 1 - 2 minutes to thicken. Leave the heat on the lowest setting so that the caramel can be put back in for a short time at some point to soften, because it will set after a while.
Preparing a caramel basket/nest
With a fork with long tines, scoop up the required amount of caramel, pull it out and drizzle it chaotically on the back of a greased ladle to obtain the so-called nest/caramel basket.
Leave it aside to harden and then very gently and carefully, because it breaks easily, separate it by hand. Leave it to harden completely on the baking paper, aluminum foil can also be used.
Preparing angel hair
By dipping the fork back into the caramel, sugar is drawn out and the sugar is rolled up only from the top side of the metal rod, holding it high so that the sugar drizzles into a hair like texture and obtain the corresponding fine threads or so-called angel hair.
After the hair is prepared to the desired density, the sugar is cut with scissors. It is very carefully gathered with the palms of the hands, formed into a loose ball, and set aside on the paper to set completely.
Preparing a caramel fan
The famous caramel fan is prepared in a similar way, by dipping the fork into the caramel, pulling it out and drawing thicker threads of sugar on paper. It is left for a few minutes or longer, because here the caramel is covered one on top of the other, to dry. If it is difficult to work this way directly on the paper, you can first outline the lines for the fan with a pencil and then drizzle the caramel.
Caramelized nuts
A very nice little dessert is made from caramelized almond or hazelnut, by sticking a wooden toothpick into the nut, dipping it in the caramel, lifting it high to pull it out and form a longer thread of sugar. Leave it in a cup to cool completely and set.
Caramel spiral
The most difficult thing to prepare is the caramel spiral. It is made on a round metal handle, by pouring caramel only on the metal, without dripping down, and then leaving it to dry. It is removed extremely carefully, because it is very brittle.
Caramel can be made into any shape you want. It is easy and enjoyable to work with, the important thing is to find the right thickness so that it can flow properly. If it starts to harden during the process, place it on a very low heat, constantly watching it so that it does not burn, and continue shaping it into the desired shapes.
It is important to know that any caramel is extremely hot and should be handled with the necessary care.
With the caramel decoration you can decorate your pastries, cakes, crème caramel, and even crème brûlée.
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