This caramel is not your conventional childhood sugary treat. As this one uses beer, it does impart a more robust flavour for those adults used to alcohol or for kids that live in areas like Lakemba, Frankston, or anywhere where the dole office is like the local church. The taste on the palate is comparable to most marriages I know. Starts off sweet, goes smooth for a bit and by the end becomes a little bitter. But rest easy, the bitterness in this is a good thing as according to Toohey’s Brewery Australia, TED’s is a “A highly refreshing dry lager with low bitterness and a light malt body”. So, there is no chance this sweet delight will turn that bitter that it takes your kids and uses them as pawns..
It’s origins were not born out of a love for beer. It was from my lust for sugar and all things caramel. I had a couple of Tooheys Extra Drys (TED’s) there in the electronic chill cupboard for a few months and one day I opened the fridge and it hit me, the can of beetroot fell off the top shelf and straight on to my ingrown toenail. Faaaarrrrrk! I needed something to take my mind off the pain. And as I looked up to the shelf where the beets once sat, there it was.. Alcohol!
I did what any red blooded, potentially morbidly obese male would do in a moment like this.. Take the beers and make caramel,,
Here’s what you’ll need:
700mls of TED’s beer (2 x stubbies)
500g sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Bean extract
Heavy cream
1 – Empty the beers into a pot, make it a decent size to avoid spillage from boiling.
2 – Bring to boil, avoid stirring and reduce temperature to allow for a gentle rolling bubble, like lava
making its way down the side of the volcano and into the meadow. Not a violent bubble, like lava
making its way down the side of the volcano and into the meadow, destroying every living thing that
stands in its way. After a couple of hours it will start to thicken.
3 – When it is able to stick to a metal spoon take it off the heat. Allow to cool for a bit before
adding the vanilla and cream.
4 – How much cream you add is up to you. I used about half of a cup to give it a smooth creaminess.
5 – I found that the little bitterness at the end subsided over the week it sat in the fridge. It did
get better and better.
Give it a shot. You wont be disappointed. This will not be my last foray into the beer-cross-caramel saga… This is BEERAMEL