Soft chewy caramels

Lightly butter a 9x13 inch dish, press parchment paper into it and butter the parchment as well, so the caramel releases.

Cube one cup of butter.

Put the granulated sugar, packed light brown sugar, corn syrup, salt and cubed butter into a heavy four to five quart saucepan.

Set over medium heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, brushing any sugar off the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush so it does not crystallise or burn.

Once the butter and sugars have melted and the mixture bubbles, slowly add the two cups of cream and keep stirring; it drops the temperature to about 180.

Bring to a boil and keep stirring or it boils over, reducing the heat if it climbs too fast.

The temperature climbs fast into the 220s and then levels off as the water from the butter and the cream boils off, leaving a sugar and fat solution that slowly climbs to the softball stage.

Cook to 245, the softball stage; the mixture darkens, thickens, resists the spoon and bubbles in slow burps rather than a light froth.

Take it off the heat; a drop in cold water should form a soft ball, not a hard drop.

Stir in two teaspoons of vanilla, then pour into the prepared pan wearing gloves.

Leave about four hours at room temperature to solidify, or speed it up in the fridge; if chilled, bring back to room temperature for 30 minutes before cutting.

For salted caramels, sprinkle flaked sea salt over after 30 minutes of cooling, not before, or it sinks in.

Lift the slab out, cut a bar on the parchment and then cut the pieces on a cutting board with a sharp knife.

Keep the pieces separated so they do not meld back together; wrap in cut sheets of parchment with a twist at each end. They keep a week at room temperature or several weeks refrigerated.