Spiced Caramel Syrup

By Dorie Greenspan

Spiced Caramel Syrup
Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Pamela Duncan Silver.
Total Time
About 10 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
4(38)
Comments
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While this syrup was created by the pastry chef Daniel Skurnick to pour over his Franco-Chinese steamed ginger-milk custard, it’s a good recipe to have handy when you want something to pour over cooked fruit, ice cream or pudding – I like it paired with vanilla, chocolate or butterscotch. It’s a quickly made syrup flavored with peppercorns, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. Mr. Skurnick says you should cook the caramel until its color is “Irish-setter red” before adding the spices – it’s a perfect description of what you’re looking for. 

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Ingredients

Yield:Enough to top 6 custards
  • ½cup (100 grams) sugar
  • 10black peppercorns
  • 4whole cloves
  • 1slice nutmeg (about ¼ of a whole nutmeg)
  • 11-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
  • ¼cup (60 milliliters) water
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

69 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 17 grams sugars; 0 grams protein; 1 milligram sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pour the sugar into a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan set over medium-high heat. Once the sugar starts to color, swirl the pan so that it melts and colors evenly.

  2. Step 2

    When the caramel is a light reddish-brown color, or as Mr. Skurnick says, “Irish-setter red” (it takes about 5 minutes to reach this stage), drop in the spices and, standing away from the pan, carefully pour in the water. When it boils, reduce the heat to very low and cook for 2 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Strain the caramel into a heatproof container (discard the spices or use them for tea), and cool completely. You can keep the syrup covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. It will thicken; warm gently to reliquefy.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
38 user ratings
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Comments

Pam Allen

What is this 'slice of nutmeg'? My nutmeg are like hard nuts...not sliceable

rop

use the end piece left over from grating

Dwight

If you have a cheese grater with a wide slot on one side, you may be able to cut off a slice. A mandoline slicer could work, or a sharp vegetable peeler. Really sharp knives (non-serrated) can also cut off a slice of nutmeg, but I recommend flattening the nut first to make a more stable base. In any case, please be careful - a cut-proof glove is a worthwhile investment.

Barb P

I combined this recipe with ideas from another Times recipe (https://daily4you.info/recipes/11665-spiced-brandied-cherries%3C/a%3E%29. Made this just as is, then added halved cherries and cognac while sill hot. Let macerate a few days in the fridge, then served over ice cream. Before cherry season is over I'm going to make quarts of this stuff!

Jo L.

This would be delicious over cardboard, it's that good.

Jo L.

This would make cardboard edible. We've had it over ice cream, chocolate cake, angel food cake...

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