Sauces, Brittle and Toppings
Cooking Skills: Ice Cream 2
Chapter 5 · Sauces, Brittle and Toppings
Skill goal
Cook four toppings, from a simple fruit sauce to a true caramel, and read the stages of sugar.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
A great sauce or crunchy topping turns a scoop into a dessert. The skill in this chapter is cooking sugar to the right stage: a simple fruit sauce, a gently simmered chocolate sauce, a toasty butterscotch, and a true caramel set into brittle. Each step up gets hotter, and the colour of the sugar tells you where you are.
The method
- Use a heavy-based pan so the sugar cooks evenly and doesn't scorch in one spot. A pale pan lets you see the colour.
- Watch the colour, not the clock. Sugar goes from amber to burnt in seconds, and carries on cooking in the pan after it comes off the heat.
- Have everything ready first: the warm cream, the lined tray, the nuts. There is no time to hunt for things once the sugar is ready.
- Add warm cream slowly, off the heat, and stand back, because caramel spits.
- Taste at the end. A pinch of salt makes caramel taste sweeter and deeper.
| Topping | Cooked to | Texture | Best on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raspberry coulis | A simmer, then sieved | Thin, sharp, runny | Vanilla, semifreddo, cheesecake |
| Hot fudge | A gentle simmer | Thick, glossy, sets a little | Vanilla, nut or coffee ice cream |
| Butterscotch | Toffee-brown, then cream | Soft, runny, sticky | Banana, vanilla, chocolate |
| Brittle and praline | Deep amber, set hard | Hard, crunchy shards | Any smooth ice cream |
Hot sugar, cream and children
Caramel is the hottest thing in the kitchen: melted sugar reaches well over 160°C, far hotter than boiling water, and it sticks to skin and burns badly. Use a heavy-based pan, keep the handle turned in, stand back when adding cream (it spits and bubbles up hard), and keep a bowl of cold water nearby to run over any burn. Nothing leaves the pan until it has cooled, and children should not help with this chapter's sugar work.Adding cream: warm the cream in a small pan or the microwave first and pour it in slowly, with the pan off the heat. Cold cream makes the caramel seize into a lump and spit; if it does, return it to a low heat and stir until it melts again.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Raspberry coulis
A coulis is a smooth, sharp fruit sauce, the simplest and brightest topping for any ice cream, semifreddo or cake. No sugar-boiling is needed, just gentle heat and a sieve.
Ingredients (6 portions)
- 250 g raspberries (fresh, or frozen and boiled as in the box)
- 3 tbsp icing sugar, or to taste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Simmer the raspberries with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water for 5 minutes, until they collapse.
- Press through a fine sieve into a bowl with the back of a spoon, scraping the underside, and throw away the seeds.
- Stir in the lemon juice and taste. Add more sugar a teaspoon at a time. Cool, then chill. It thickens as it cools.
Hot fruit and keeping
Fruit: wash fresh fruit before use. If you use frozen berries, heat them until boiling and simmer for a minute before using them cold, as is usual UK advice for frozen berries (general guidance: check the pack).Hot sugar syrup and custard: sugar syrup is much hotter than boiling water and sticks to skin, so keep the pan handle turned in and don't touch it. Don't let anything boil over, and keep children away from the hob.
Keeping: cooled sauces keep in a clean, covered jar in the fridge for about a week (coulis for about 3 days) (general guidance). Reheat gently until warm, not boiling, and use a clean spoon each time.
Level 2 · Chocolate
Hot fudge sauce
A glossy, thick chocolate sauce that sets slightly on cold ice cream. It is made by simmering rather than caramelising, so it is easier than butterscotch, but still hot.
Ingredients (6 portions)
- 100 g dark chocolate (about 70%), chopped
- 150 ml double cream
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- 50 g light brown sugar
- 20 g butter
- 1 pinch salt
- Put the cream, golden syrup, brown sugar, butter and salt in a small heavy pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Simmer gently for 3 minutes, stirring, without letting it boil hard.
- Take off the heat, add the chocolate and stir until completely smooth. Serve warm.
Hot sugar, chocolate and keeping
Caramel is the hottest thing in the kitchen: melted sugar reaches well over 160°C, far hotter than boiling water, and it sticks to skin and burns badly. Use a heavy-based pan, keep the handle turned in, stand back when adding cream (it spits and bubbles up hard), and keep a bowl of cold water nearby to run over any burn. Nothing leaves the pan until it has cooled, and children should not help with this chapter's sugar work.Keeping: cooled sauces keep in a clean, covered jar in the fridge for about a week (coulis for about 3 days) (general guidance). Reheat gently until warm, not boiling, and use a clean spoon each time.
Allergens: ice cream usually contains milk (cream, condensed milk), and often egg, nuts, peanuts, soy (in some chocolate and cookies) and wheat (cookies and cones). Check labels, and never serve a nut-containing ice cream to someone with a nut allergy without telling them. Coconut cream or oat cream can replace dairy cream in some recipes, but the texture changes.
Level 2 · Caramel
Butterscotch sauce
Butterscotch is brown sugar cooked with butter, then loosened with cream. Because brown sugar already has colour, watch the smell and the bubbles more than the colour: it should smell toasty, not burnt.
Ingredients (6 portions)
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 50 g butter
- 150 ml double cream
- 1 tbsp golden syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch sea salt
- Warm the cream in a small pan and keep it nearby. Melt the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup together in a heavy pan over a low heat, stirring until smooth.
- Let it bubble gently for 3 to 4 minutes without stirring much, until it smells of toffee and darkens slightly.
- Take the pan off the heat, stand back and pour in the warm cream slowly, stirring. Stir in the vanilla and salt and cool a little before serving.
Hot caramel, cream and keeping
Caramel is the hottest thing in the kitchen: melted sugar reaches well over 160°C, far hotter than boiling water, and it sticks to skin and burns badly. Use a heavy-based pan, keep the handle turned in, stand back when adding cream (it spits and bubbles up hard), and keep a bowl of cold water nearby to run over any burn. Nothing leaves the pan until it has cooled, and children should not help with this chapter's sugar work.Adding cream: warm the cream in a small pan or the microwave first and pour it in slowly, with the pan off the heat. Cold cream makes the caramel seize into a lump and spit; if it does, return it to a low heat and stir until it melts again.
Keeping: cooled sauces keep in a clean, covered jar in the fridge for about a week (coulis for about 3 days) (general guidance). Reheat gently until warm, not boiling, and use a clean spoon each time.
Level 3 · Hot sugar
Nut brittle and praline
A true caramel: sugar and water cooked until amber, mixed with toasted nuts and poured thin to set hard. Broken in shards it tops sundaes; crushed fine it is praline, to fold into ice cream (see Cooking Skills: Ice Cream 1, chapter 6).
Ingredients (10 portions)
- 150 g caster sugar
- 50 ml water
- 100 g unsalted nuts (for example almonds or hazelnuts), toasted
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 baking tray lined with baking parchment
- Toast the nuts in a dry pan until golden and lightly fragrant, tip onto a plate, and have the lined tray ready beside the hob.
- Put the sugar and water in a heavy pan over a medium heat. Stir only until the sugar dissolves, then stop and swirl the pan gently, with no stirring.
- Cook for 6 to 8 minutes until it turns a deep amber. Take it off the heat at once, stir in the nuts and salt in two or three strokes and pour onto the tray.
- Tilt to spread thin if needed. Leave it to set for at least 30 minutes, untouched. Break into shards, or crush with a rolling pin for praline.
Very hot caramel, nuts and keeping
Caramel is the hottest thing in the kitchen: melted sugar reaches well over 160°C, far hotter than boiling water, and it sticks to skin and burns badly. Use a heavy-based pan, keep the handle turned in, stand back when adding cream (it spits and bubbles up hard), and keep a bowl of cold water nearby to run over any burn. Nothing leaves the pan until it has cooled, and children should not help with this chapter's sugar work.Don't stir sugar and water: once the sugar has dissolved, leave the pan alone and swirl it gently. Stirring can make the sugar crystallise into a grainy mass. Brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush if crystals form.
Nuts: pistachios, almonds and other nuts (and pastes made from them) are serious allergens, and some products are made in factories that handle other nuts. Never serve them to a guest without asking, and make a nut-free swap when anyone has an allergy.
Nut-free swap: make the brittle with pumpkin and sunflower seeds instead of nuts (check the labels for nut traces and sesame), or use plain caramel poured thin and broken into shards. Praline is only for nut-eaters.
Brittle and praline: once cold and hard, store in an airtight tin with a sheet of baking parchment between layers: damp air makes brittle sticky. It keeps for about 2 weeks. Break it with a rolling pin inside a tea towel, and keep the pieces small for small children, as sharp shards and nuts are a choking risk.
Experiments
Experiment
Cooking time and colour
Pale, amber or dark.
- Make three tiny batches of the butterscotch, cooked for 2, 4 and 6 minutes before adding the cream. Taste each when cool.
Look for: The short one is mild and milky; the middle one is toffee-rich; the long one is dark and slightly bitter. Write down which you prefer, and how the smell changed.
Experiment
Cream hot or cold
Warm cream, then cold.
- Add warm cream to one small batch of caramel and cold cream to another, off the heat, standing back.
Look for: The warm cream goes in smoothly; the cold cream makes the caramel spit and seize into a lump. This is why the cream is warmed first. Take extra care with this test.
Experiment
Sauce thickness
Hot, warm and cold.
- Spoon the same fudge sauce onto ice cream when hot, when warm and after it has chilled.
Look for: Hot, it melts the ice cream into a puddle; warm, it coats well; cold, it is thick and stiff. Warm is usually best.
Experiment
Brittle thickness
Thin or thick.
- Pour one tray of brittle as thin as you can and another thick, and break both when set.
Look for: The thin brittle snaps into crisp, light shards; the thick one is hard to bite and can be tooth-breaking. Thin is better on ice cream.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raspberry coulis | ||||
| Hot fudge | ||||
| Butterscotch | ||||
| Brittle and praline | ||||
| Cooking time and colour | ||||
| Cream hot or cold | ||||
| Sauce thickness | ||||
| Brittle thickness |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Grainy sugar | Stirred after it dissolved, or crystals on the pan | Swirl, don't stir; brush the sides with water |
| Burnt, bitter caramel | Cooked too long | Start again; take it off at deep amber |
| Caramel seized into a lump | Cold cream | Warm the cream; return to a low heat and stir |
| Sauce too thin | Under-reduced, or served hot | Simmer a minute longer or chill it |
| Sauce too thick | Over-cooked or cold | Warm gently with a spoonful of cream |
| Sticky brittle | Damp air | Store airtight with parchment; make on a dry day |
Hot sugar, nuts and keeping
Caramel is the hottest thing in the kitchen: melted sugar reaches well over 160°C, far hotter than boiling water, and it sticks to skin and burns badly. Use a heavy-based pan, keep the handle turned in, stand back when adding cream (it spits and bubbles up hard), and keep a bowl of cold water nearby to run over any burn. Nothing leaves the pan until it has cooled, and children should not help with this chapter's sugar work.Nuts: pistachios, almonds and other nuts (and pastes made from them) are serious allergens, and some products are made in factories that handle other nuts. Never serve them to a guest without asking, and make a nut-free swap when anyone has an allergy.
Keeping: cooled sauces keep in a clean, covered jar in the fridge for about a week (coulis for about 3 days) (general guidance). Reheat gently until warm, not boiling, and use a clean spoon each time.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make a coulis and sieve it smooth.
- I can tell caramel stages by colour and smell.
- I always warm the cream and stand back.
- I can set brittle thin and store it dry.
- I know children should not help with hot sugar.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Ice Cream 2, chapter 6 is Cones, Cups and Wafers: edible containers to put it all in.