Again with the salted caramel. I cannot resist, it is just so delicious!

I had friends coming to the house on Friday night for dinner. I wanted to make something different for dessert. While reading my food magazines, I came across this recipe for Salted Caramel Pie. The ingredients were simple and I assumed the results had to be nothing less than wonderful.

Salted Caramel Pie

Recipe from Food and Wine Magazine – November 2011 – Carrie Cusack

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 5 ounces)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup light brown sugar

Two 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk

Fleur de sel

2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, pulse the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and light brown sugar until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly into a 9-inch glass or metal pie plate. Bake for about 10 minutes, just until lightly browned. Let cool. Increase the oven temperature to 425°.
2. Scrape the condensed milk into a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish and sprinkle with a scant 1/2 teaspoon of fleur de sel. Cover the dish with foil and place it in a roasting pan. Add enough hot water to the pan to reach one-third of the way up the side of the baking dish. Bake, lifting the foil to stir 2 or 3 times, until the condensed milk is golden and thickened, about 2 hours; add more water to the roasting pan as necessary. The consistency of the caramel should be like dulce de leche. Don’t worry if it is lumpy; it will smooth out as it chills..
3. Scrape the caramel filling into the pie crust, smoothing the top. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with vegetable oil spray and cover the pie. Refrigerate until the filling is chilled and set, at least 4 hours.
4. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream with the confectioners’ sugar until firm. Remove the plastic. Mound the whipped cream on top of the pie and sprinkle with fleur de sel*. Cut into wedges and serve.

MAKE AHEAD The recipe can be prepared through Step 2 up to 5 days ahead. Refrigerate the crust and filling separately.

Overall, you are making dulce de leche with some salt and putting it in a graham cracker crust. If you do not have Fleur de Sel you can use a course or flake sea salt. I would not recommend any other salt.

There is another way to make dulce de leche in a can. It looks simpler than this method, however I have not tried it to be sure it will produce the same results for this recipe. I have also heard that there may be some safety issues if you let the water get to low. Eeek!