Yes, the first time I made a single caramel layer 4 Charlie's Blk Bot Pie & it came out perfectly.
During my 2nd attempt I was cranking out 2 pies so yes, I doubled the ingredients for the caramel layer--to save time! Yeah, right. I ended up with a thick butter sauce that was grainy instead of the beautiful amber-colored caramel sauce of my first BB pie.
Thanks for your tip about not doubling the caramel portion as maybe that was my problem the 2nd time around. I do hate it when I make a recipe successfully once or twice or even many times, and then later with the very same recipe(!), things refuse to come out right even though I swear I did everything identically. That first-time, dumb luck syndrome drives me nuts!
Of course, I've been racking my brain ever since 8/15 to try and remember how I cooked successful Attempt #1 vs how I cooked blown Attempt #2 so I could zero in on any differences. And of course, I wasn't really paying attention during the 2nd go-round because my first caramel-making attempt had been so easy. !!!!
Besides the doubling of the caramel layer ingredients (possible BooBoo #1), I also think I may have stirred the sugar & water together too long in order to dissolve the sugar. I had turned the burner to 'low' heat while doing this (like the recipe instructed), but of course, it took the sugar longer to dissolve when doing a double batch, and so the mixture undoubtedly became warmer before that occurred. I'm thinking therein might lie BooBoo #2. Of course, it could have been neither of those, now that I am reading about GayleMO, who does 1.5 or 2.0 batches all the time and very successfully.
It wasn't raining that day here, i.e., on 8/15, but it had to have been humid. Every day in southern Indiana is humid in July & August.
Naturally, all my "friends" are happy about this fiasco because they know they'll be my taste testers for future experimentation!
Marilyn, I loved reading your full caramel horror thread. Misery does indeed love company! I'll post my results once I pluck up the courage to tackle caramel with that pie again. Right now I am debating about switching to the 'dry' method as Charlie so sanely advised. My stubborn streak is balking--I want to employ the 'wet' method like I did initially and MAKE THAT SAME PROCESS WORK AGAIN. Time will tell the sticky tale.
