Caramel Dipped Fruit
From Jacques Torres' Dessert Circus At Home,
published by William Morrow





This is a very easy treat to make. You can use any kind of fruit. I like to make my fruit skewers with fruit combinations that are colorful and tasty. Be creative.

If you use refrigerated fruit, allow it to come to room temperature a few hours before dipping it in the HOT caramel. If you use cold fruit, condensation will form, creating moisture that will cause the sugar to melt. It is best to make these within 3 hours of the time you plan to serve them. Since fruit is mostly water, it's moisture will cause the sugar to melt, making these treats sticky and gooey. When working with caramel, be sure to have a bowl of cold water on hand. If you get HOT sugar on your finger, immediately dip them in the cold water to avoid burning, and therefor remove the need for lawsuit.

Caramel Dipped Fruit

  • Scant 1/2 cup of water.
  • 2 /14 cups of granulated sugar.
  • Scant 2/3 cup of light corn syrup.
  • 16 ounces of fresh fruit.

    Place the water, sugar, and corn syrup in a 2-quart heavy bottomed saucepan over medium high heat. The corn syrup will make the cooked sugar harder and crunchier; it will also help prevent the cooked sugar from melting as quickly when it reacts to the humidity in the air. Insert a candy thermometer and cook the sugar mixture to 311'f. Stir in the sugar slowly as it cooks to ensure that it cooks evenly. If you do not stir it, the mixture will develop HOT spots and the sugar will cook faster in those spots. Use a pastry brush to keep the inside of the saucepan clean as the sugar cooks, or the sugar may re-crystallize. To do this, dip a clean brush in cold water and brush the inside of the pan clean.

    Remove the cooked sugar from the heat and pour it into a medium size heat proof glass bowl. The glass bowl will hold the temperature and stop the cooking process. It will also allow you to reheat the sugar in a microwave oven if needed. Occasionally stir the HOT sugar to keep it from darkening due to residual heat. Stirring also helps keep the temperature even. I put a towel under the bowl to keep it from tipping, and to protect my hands from the heat of the glass.

    Peel, core, or pit, and halve the fruit as necessary. Use a sharp knife to slice the fruit into small pieces. (This is not necessary for berries or grapes.) Arrange the fruit on toothpicks or small skewers in any combination you like. Leave enough room at one end of the toothpick or skewer so you will be able to hold it as you dip it into the HOT sugar. Dip each toothpick in the HOT sugar, coating the fruits completely. Wipe the toothpick against the rim of the bowl to remove any excess sugar and place on on a sheet of parchment paper. Repeat until all of the fruit has been dipped. The fruit skewers should release easily from the parchment paper once they have cooled. You can arrange them on a plate or use your imagination to make a fruit skewer centerpiece.