Salted Hop Caramel Sauce

I know that some people are very fastidious about their caramel. If I were making candy, I would have pulled my candy thermometer out of the drawer, but for sauce...I'm more fast and loose. I decided to try to make a hop-infused salted caramel. I think next time I'll use more hops. Because the hoppy profile wasn't too strong, I left the petals in. If it were stronger, I might have strained them out.

Ingredients

• 1 C organic raw turbinado sugar
• 1/4 C water
• 2 hop blossoms, pulled apart (I used some Cascade hops from the Lamberts)
• 3/4 C organic heavy cream
• 3 1/2 T butter
• 1 t gray fleur de sel (whatever you use, make sure it has a fine flake)

Procedure

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and hop blossoms over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Once all of the crystals are dissolved, turn up the heat and bring to a boil, without stirring. If needed, use a wet pastry brush to wash down any crystals along the side of the pan. Boil until the syrup is a deep amber color, approximately 5-6 minutes.

Turn off the heat and carefully whisk in the heavy cream.

The mixture will bubble. Stir in the butter and salt. Remove the caramel from the heat and let cool completely. Pour into a jar and refrigerate.

Note: the caramel sauce will keep in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Reheat before serving!