Sometimes known as buttercrunch toffee or English toffee, this candy is a treat that can be enjoyed at any time of the year, although it will be served more often in the run-up to Christmas. Toffee is a simple treat that is easy to make, use a little more sugar and butter for a crunchy taste and caramel in a thin golden layer. Toffee is also easy to customize, meaning you can create new types of toffee to your liking.
Notes:
To make the best toffee, it is highly recommended to purchase a candy thermometer. This is not a must, however, it is absolutely necessary.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), plus 1 tbsp for greasing the pan
- 2 tbsp corn syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
Addition
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 2 cups toasted walnuts, almonds, pecans, peanuts, or hazelnuts
- 2 cups dark brown sugar (as a substitute for white sugar)
- 56 grams of ground coffee and 226 grams of white chocolate, melt together
- 1 box saltine cracker
Step
Method 1 of 2: Making a Basic Butter Toffee
Step 1. Grease a 27.5x42.5 cm baking pan with 1 tbsp butter
Use butter to give a thin layer on the bottom and sides of the pan. This will keep the toffee from sticking to the pan when you move it. Set the baking sheet aside on a wire rack for later use – you'll be pouring the hot toffee over this pan until it cools.
You can also line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper or use a Silpat mat if you don't want to grease the pan with butter
Step 2. Divide the remaining 1 1/2 cups of butter into small portions
You simply cut the butter into small squares. This will increase the surface area of the butter and help it melt evenly.
Step 3. Heat the butter over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan
This pan will keep the sugar from burning when it cooks later, but you can use a regular saucepan if you don't have one. Stir the butter regularly as it melts. When you're sure that all the butter has melted, move on to the next step – don't let the butter brown.
Step 4. Add sugar, syrup, water, salt, and corn syrup, reduce heat to medium-low
Once the butter has melted, add the 2 cups white sugar, 2 tablespoons corn syrup, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. If possible, use a wooden spoon instead of a metal spoon to prevent sugar crystals from forming.
If you don't have corn syrup, add 4 tablespoons butter, dividing into small pieces
Step 5. Stop stirring when the mixture boils
The sugar may re-crystal when over-stirred, resulting in a toffee that is coarser than you would like the fine texture to be. Use a pastry brush to crush the sugar crystals on the sides of the pan and down the mixture, then let the toffee sit, without stirring, until you remove it from the stove.
You can also cover the pot briefly – the steam will condense on the sides of the pan, dissolving the sugar and dripping back into the mixture
Step 6. Slide a candy thermometer into the mixture and wait for it to reach 148°C
This is the "hard crack" stage of the candy. This means, when cold, the candy will break into the hard toffee pieces you want. Turn off the heat when the thermometer reaches 148°C.
If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can tell when the toffee is done when the mixture turns a deep golden yellow, similar to the color of an almond skin. But do not let the toffee brown, because this means the toffee is scorched
Step 7. Turn off the heat and add 2 tsp of vanilla then mix quickly
This ensures that you add the extract throughout the mixture evenly, but don't allow more sugar crystals to form. You just need to stir until 3-4 mixes.
Step 8. Be careful when pouring the toffee on the baking sheet
You'll pour it onto a baking sheet to let it cool and harden, after which you can break it into smaller pieces.
If you want to put the beans in the toffee, spread the beans on a baking sheet beforehand and pour the toffee over them
Step 9. Chill the toffee in the freezer for 20-30 minutes
Then you can move it, break it into pieces, and serve. Toffee will last for 7-10 days in an airtight container at room temperature and up to a month in the freezer.
Method 2 of 2: Variations
Step 1. Add 2 cups of chocolate chips to the toffee right after pouring it onto the baking sheet
Sprinkle chocolate evenly across the top of the toffee and let sit for 2-3 minutes while it heats up. Once the color has lightened slightly, use a plastic spatula to spread the chocolate evenly across the surface of the toffee, creating two layers of the chocolate toffee treat. Freeze as usual.
Step 2. Pour the toffee over 1 cup of baked beans
Toffee has long been served with nuts, especially almonds and pecans. Place a cup of beans on a baking sheet before you pour the toffee. Then use a food processor to finely chop another 1/2 cup of nuts and pour over the toffee while it's still hot (or chocolate, if you prefer to use it on top). Freeze as usual.
Step 3. Try the mocha white chocolate topping
Put 226 grams of white chocolate and 56 grams of finely ground coffee in a small saucepan. Heat 2.5-5 cm of water in a larger saucepan, then place the pan of chocolate into the pot of water to warm the chocolate indirectly. This is called a double boiler, because the hot water around the pan will melt the chocolate, not the heat directly from the stove. Stir the coffee and chocolate until completely melted, then pour and spread over the almost partially cooled toffee.
Step 4. Replace white sugar with brown sugar for a thicker toffee
Brown sugar has a darker sugar content – such qualities that make for a special treat. You can continue the rest of the recipe the same as regular toffee.
Step 5. Sprinkle with fine salt or fleur de sel for a salty-sweet treat
These simple candies are the perfect combination that you can't cook any other way. The sugar that forms the caramel goes great with a pinch of salt, sprinkle over the top of the toffee right after pouring it onto the baking sheet.
Step 6. Try making a bacon toffee
Sweet, salty and savory, the bacon toffee is hard to resist. To make it, you simply fry, dry, and finely chop 450 grams of bacon. Place a small piece of bacon on a baking sheet and pour the toffee over it.
Step 7. Use toffee in biscuits and other baking recipes
Crush the toffee and use it side by side with the chocolate chips to make chocolate chip cookies. Toffee goes great with double chocolate crackers or as a crumb on top of a cake before serving.
Tips
- The temperature of your mix is very important in determining the type of toffee you will be making, including the texture and level of softness of the toffee.
- To clean the pan, boil hot water in it, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved.
