Caramelising white chocolate is not a commonly used technique, but is well worth it if you are passionate about baking and chocolate work. The process of caramelisation turns the sugar into caramel, creating a rich toffee akin to dulce de leche, but with cocoa undertones thanks to the presence of cocoa butter.

To caramelise white chocolate, use a good quality bar with a high cocoa butter content (about 30% - ideally 32%), as this helps the chocolate to melt and break down evenly. A chocolate of 20% or lower will not melt as evenly, and may dry out.

Caramelised white chocolate is solid at room temperature and can be easily melted and used in any chocolate recipe. Caramelised white chocolate works well with fresh fruit - such as pear - as Laurie Gear shows in his Pear and caramelised white chocolate galette.

The beauty of caramelised white chocolate is its versatility - you can use it to fill some chocolate shells for a heavenly gift, or simply spread on cake.