Help! My caramellized sugar is a hard blob!

[emilycat]

okay, can you tell I've never done this before. I'm making flan, and I'm supposed to caramelize sugar for it. My first try was very unsuccessful, and I think I may have cooked it too long. It went past the big granule stage into liquidy, clumpy hard stuff that wasn't going anywhere when I tried to make it coat the pan. What's it supposed to look like when it's ready? My oven's preheated and everything, so if anyone has any suggestions, I would be eternally grateful. Thanks!
Em

[Gail]

First of all, I'm wondering about your heat. If your heat is too high, you're gonna burn your sugar into an icky, goopy mess. If that were the case, it may actually have smoked and smelled kind of nasty.

Turn your burner down and melt it slowly. As the sugar melts, it'll disolve and will eventually turn light brown. Watch it carefully and stir it. Eventually, you'll get to a brown, syrupy consistency and you won't feel any granules anywhere in your pan. You have arrived.

Just so you'll know, if you're melting this goop in anything other than the pan in which you're actually baking the flan, transfer it quickly into your baking pan or you'll be chipping the stuff out. It solidifies very quickly.

OK? Good luck. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[emilycat]

I definitely committed a baking blunder. The heat wasn't too high, but I stopped short of melting, and just sprinkled the half-melted light brown granules into the bottom of the pan. Hmmm. I know what you're all thinking. We'll see how this turns out. It came out of the oven nicely though. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif And it smells good. It looked good on top, too, when I took it out of the oven. I'm not looking forward to flipping it over. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif I'll let ya know.

[lindrusso]

emilycat - I can sympathize. I have a candy curse (I guess it sort of goes along with my cake curse). Last year I tried to make brittle - I bought BAGS of different kinds of nuts from the store. I tried it first with almonds and it was a total mess!!!! When I went to pour the "brittle" over the nuts, it crystallized as it came out of the pan and looked like a big sugar brick!

This year I tried to make popcorn balls. Seemed easy but.... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/rolleyes.gif . The first time I ended up with something more resembling Rice Krispie Treats. The second time (I was determined) it was closer, but no cigar. Then I tried to nicely drip the melted chocolate on the not-so-great popcorn balls and made an even bigger mess. My chocolate did not run down the sides prettily as in the picture - it landed in big clumps and looked awful.

I give up for the time being!!!

Where was this story when we were talking about kitchen disasters????

[Gail]

Em,
Maybe you'll luck out and the oven will finish melting it for you. Let us know.

Good luck! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[emilycat]

Success! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif Well, at least taste-wise. I didn't exactly have that nice, pretty, caramelized sugar layer on top, but the actual flan was so delicious. I think I'll try it again some time and maybe try Vanessa's mom's caramelized sugar in the microwave thing (on her own post)
Linrusso, I think you and I are on the same page (gosh, that was a bad non-intentional pun). Maybe it has something to do with baking being a science, while cooking is more of an art. Chemistry just wasn't my thing. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif
Thanks for everyone's help!

[This message has been edited by emilycat (edited 10-31-2000).]

[ChrisF]

Ah, the Flan Follies! I can relate to this! I have a recipe for a flan that uses egg substitute and non-fat condensed milk that I've been making for years and years...I love it so much that I've struggled with this carmelized sugar thing dozens of times. I've learned to put my baking pan into the oven as it preheats, and while the sugar is melting. Then, when you are pouring it from the skillet into the hot baking pan, it doesn't 'harden on impact'. Plus, this summer I took a cooking class at a restaurant in Oaxaca, Mexico and the chef melted the sugar right in the baking pan; she used a campstove type pan that had a detachable handle. I tried that, but used a pair of metal tongs to manipulate my baking pan. It worked, but was really awkward--felt like those old 'Jiffy Pop' days-remember that?? Anyway, sorry this is so long--just thought I'd pass along my experiences. -----Chris in California