How to Make the Perfect Batch of Bonfire Toffee
A Recipe: Making Treacle Toffee for Autumn Celebrations
The process of making toffee involves boiling the ingredients until the mix is stiff enough to be pulled into a shape which holds and has a glossy surface. The resulting mixture is then poured into a shallow tray and allowed to cool to form a type of sweet.
Different mixes, processes, and (most importantly) temperatures of toffee making will result in different textures and hardnesses, from soft and often sticky to a hard brittle material. Treacle toffee used to be common in most sweet shops, but now it is only usually available in supermarkets in October and November. Most commonly it is found as pre-made lollies that are set in small foil pie dishes. It can also be bought in slabs, which are cracked into smaller pieces with a toffee hammer.
The toffee recipe below can be adapted to make toffee apples - simply dip apples on sticks into the cooling toffee mixture before it sets, and place on to greaseproof paper.
Bonfire toffee is a Yorkshire specialty, eaten around the bonfire on Guy Fawkes night. It is best eaten by people with strong teeth!
Ingredients:
- 450g (1lb) granulated sugar
- 50g (2oz) butter (standing at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon of Golden Syrup
- 1 (227g / 8oz) can of sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
Method:
- Put the sugar, butter and syrup in to a large non-stick pan and heat gently.
- Mix well until the ingredients have melted together into a smooth liquid
- Bring to the boil
- Stir in the condensed milk and lemon juice
- Boil the mixture hard until a little of the mixture forms a hard ball when dropped in to a cup of cold water
- Take the pan off the heat and leave it to stand, until the toffee stops bubbling
- Pour the mixture in to a greased tin
- When the toffee is nearly set, score it with lines in preparation for breaking, but do not break it into pieces until it is hard, cold and set.
When the mixture is fully set and cold, it can be broken in to small pieces either by hand or by using a toffee hammer. Store the toffee in an airtight container. This sweet will last for a week in an airtight state, but discard it once it becomes soft and malleable.
Adventurous cooks can experiment with the taste of the toffee by adding in various spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon or mixed spice. Flavours such as vanilla essence or ginger can also be added in. Raisins or small sultanas make for an interesting toffee experience too.
Bonfire toffee is an ideal treat for Fall.
Apples can be dipped into this toffee mixture
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