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1
Combine the milk and cream in a heavy-based saucepan. Warm gently over low heat until the liquid steams but does not simmer. Remove from heat and keep warm. The liquid should be fragrant with fresh dairy and pour freely from a spoon.
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2
Place the sugar and glucose syrup in a separate heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Stir only until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring entirely. Cook until the syrup reaches a pale amber — distinctly lighter than a French caramel, closer to the colour of straw or pale honey. This is the calibration point for the Japanese profile: the cook must stop here. This is where the dish lives or dies — carry the colour one shade further and the bitter intensity of Western caramel replaces the mild, milky subtlety that defines the Japanese form.
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3
Remove the pan from heat. Add the warm milk-and-cream mixture in a slow, steady stream, stirring constantly. The mass will foam violently; continue stirring until the foam subsides and the mixture is uniform. The colour should be a soft, warm ivory-gold throughout.
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4
Return the pan to medium-low heat. Add the butter pieces and stir to incorporate fully. Cook the caramel mass, stirring continuously, until it thickens and pulls away slightly from the sides of the pan. A small amount dropped into cold water should form a soft, pliable ball that yields immediately to finger pressure — it must not be firm or brittle. The texture is the signature: soft enough to yield at body temperature.
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5
Stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the caramel into a lightly buttered shallow tin lined with parchment. Spread to an even thickness of approximately 1.5 cm. Leave undisturbed at room temperature until fully set. The surface should be matte and dry to the touch, with no tackiness when pressed lightly with a fingertip.
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6
Turn the set slab onto a cutting board. Cut into small squares of approximately 2.5 cm — the standardised Morinaga format. Wrap each piece individually in wax paper, twisting the ends. The caramel should feel soft and slightly yielding when pressed through the wrapper, never hard or stiff.