How to caramelize white sugar without burning it

caramelcaramelization

Last day I was trying to caramelize sugar to make sugar cage. I start of by adding lots of sugar into small amount of water.After that started heating it. After few minutes it started to bubbling and suddenly it changed it colour to light brown and before I could do anything it turned into dark brown and burning smell came. Now the quetion is when do I stop heating it? I want it to taste sweet but it tasted bitter.
Edit:Though I have accepted an answers I would like few more answer too.

Best Answer

It is perfectly normal for sugar to turn dark brown when making caramel. If it turns even darker, it is because it has been burning too hot. The final temperature should be around 234 F, so you want to get there gradually. As for the color, many recipes call for cream to make it smoother and tender, but only incorporate it after the crystals are fully dissolved and you're ready to take it off the burner.

I've seen a few youtube videos with just sugar and water for sugar cages...