Caramel desserts are the new big winter food trend, here's why

Seasoning enlivens a workaday meal. It’s the difference between humdrum and extraordinary; jumpstarting our tastebuds and setting them salivating. It’s why salted caramel is the substance of reverie, while regular caramel is an afterthought.

And dreams can come true: this winter, the salted stuff is oozing out of brownies, is drizzled on ice cream, sprinkled on popcorn and mixed into cocktails.

Firstly, there are the cult caramels. The salted caramels at Fattie’s Bakery have sold out online and reports of its salted caramel brownies are worshipful. No wonder: each batch is made from 70 per cent dark chocolate layered with salted caramel sauce and melting chunks of Jersey cream. If you want a piece of the action yourself, there is also a book, Salted Caramel Dreams, by Fattie’s founder Chloe Timms — set to be a smash hit gift this Christmas season.

Crosstown Doughnuts’s sea salt caramel banana donut is a perma-bestseller: the light chocolate sourdough is stuffed with banana custard and glazed with sea salted caramel. And at Bad Brownie the salted caramel brownie is more stripped-back: two layers of chocolate with a sandwich filling of thick salted caramel sauce.

There are grown-up iterations of the treat: Caravan drizzles salted caramel sauce over its vanilla ice cream, while the Crooked Well in Camberwell serves its hot chocolate pudding with Chantilly and salted caramel ice cream.

On the other hand, there are Insta-ready confections such as Naked Dough’s Love Doughs Apple, toffee apple and cinnamon dough, seasoned with Metcalfe’s salted caramel popcorn. And at a fashion dinner this week, editors were served a sweet taco with salted caramel and glitters hundreds of thousands.

Alternatively, you can drink yours: Brick and Liquor serves up a salted caramel espresso Martini — if the booze doesn't get you, the sugar will — while Rabot 1745 in Borough Market serves velvety salted caramel hot chocolate.