Blood Orange Caramels with Almonds and Cardamom

I had few blood oranges laying around, bought without a clear idea of what to make. Marmalade was on top of the list, but then I run into this recipe while reading mattbites blog and that sealed it, caramels, yum! Matt Armendariz lives in Los Angeles and is an amazing food stylist and photographer. Check out his website and his photos if you haven't already, just amazing.

Matt in turn got the recipe from Cindie, one of the authors of foodfanaticsunwashed, another amazing blog.

I substituted cardamom for the vanilla in their recipe and cut the salt amount by half. The taste of these caramels is amazing, the tartness of the orange juice cuts down the sweetness and the hint of cardamom is just perfect.

Warning, these are unbelievably addictive, so be prepared to consume a huge amount.

Blood Orange Caramels
adapted from Cindie

3 cups blood orange juice, strained
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
1 cup toasted almonds
1 teaspoons sea salt flakes

Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Butter parchment paper and set aside.

Place blood orange juice in a 4-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Let boil until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup.

Remove from heat and stir in sugars, butter, and cream. Return to high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn heat to medium and let boil until a candy or deep fat thermometer reads 248 degrees F (or when a half teaspoon placed in a glass of icy cold water turns into a firm, chewy ball), about 17 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the cardamom.

Scatter almonds on bottom of parchment paper. Pour caramel over almonds. Let sit until cool and firm, about 2 hours. Remove from baking dish and sprinkle salt flakes over top. Cut into 1-inch pieces.