Fleur de Sel Caramels in Dark Chocolate

So this recipe isn't in the Sur La Table cookbook, but it was so yummy I couldn't resist adding it to the blog. I had a craving for caramel, so I whipped up a batch from a recipe I found on Epicurious.com. The finished caramels were soft, chewy, and had a rich buttery flavor. After 24 hours, I cut the caramels and attempted to temper a bowl of dark chocolate to dip the caramels in. I knew tempering would be a little difficult, but I had no idea it would take so much time and be so messy! After warming the chocolate to 115 degrees, I had to cool it to 86 degrees, and then warm it back to 89 degrees (while being careful not to go over 90 degrees lest risk starting the whole process over again!). Thankfully, I managed to temper the chocolate and began dipping each caramel one at a time, topping each one with a sprinkling of fleur de sel for an added layer of flavor. I think the finished chocolates looked so pretty and taste just as good, if not better than anything you can buy at the store. I am looking forward to trying my hand at more chocolates, and maybe someday I'll buy that $500 tempering machine!