To create toffee, we will basically heat sugar and butter until the sugar reaches the hard crack stage (300°F / 150°C). If you don't allow the sugar to reach this temperature before cooling, the texture will be different. For example, if heated to the soft crack stage (the temperature range just below hard crack), the candy would be more like a butterscotch than a brittle, crunchy toffee. (In some parts of the world, this is also considered a toffee, but it's not what comes to mind when I hear the word.) If the sugar is heated beyond 320°F (160°C), then it might not retain its solid form and turn into liquid caramel over time.
Assemble the ingredients: 6 oz. (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup (200 g) sugar, about 1/2 cup (60 g) chopped almonds, 1 (5 mL) teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter.Latest Articles
Melt the butter in the saucepan with the sugar and salt plus a little (about 2 teaspoons, 10 mL) water over gentle heat. (Low heat is important to prevent separation later. Just be patient and let it melt together.) The extra water will make it easier for the sugar to heat evenly and melt together.
Stir the mixture constantly while heating over medium-high heat. The butter and sugar will bubble and foam as the water boils off. This can take several minutes because butter contains a decent amount of water. The volume of the mixture will increase dramatically at this point. At this point the temperature should be relatively constant at a few degrees above the boiling point of water.
Once the water has boiled off, the mixture will collapse and thicken. The temperature will also start to rise again. The goal is to remove the pan from the heat once the mixture passes 300°F (150°C) and before it reaches 320°F (160°C). Use an instant read thermometer or candy thermometer to keep track of the temperature as you heat and stir because the temperature can change pretty rapidly once the water boils off.When the mixture reaches 300°F (150°C), remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the mixture onto either a silicone baking mat or a large sheet of parchment paper set on top of a sheet pan. The silicone baking mat is probably easiest to work with since it won't slide around on the sheet pan. If you're using parchment paper, one way to keep it in place is to dab the underside of the four corners with a little bit of butter. That will help the paper stay put while the toffee is poured on.
Right after pouring, use a spatula (again silicone works best for working with toffee) to spread the toffee into a rough rectangular shape.
While the toffee is still hot, sprinkle the surface with the chocolate chips. Wait until the bottoms of the chips start to turn shiny and dark brown as they melt from the heat of the toffee, about two minutes. Use your spatula to spread the chocolate. If the chocolate is still mostly solid, wait another minute before attempting to spread again.
Spread the chocolate so that it covers the toffee.
Sprinkle the chocolate surface with chopped almonds. If not using finely chopped almonds, such as the slivered almonds shown in the photos, visually inspect the the surface of the toffee to make sure the almonds are making good contact with the chocolate. Lightly press down on those pieces that are barely touching the surface of the chocolate.Let the toffee cool for about twenty minutes until the sheet pan returns to room temperature. Slip the pan into the refrigerator to cool down and set for at least thirty minutes.
Remove from the refrigerator and peel the toffee from the baking mat or parchment paper. Working quickly so the chocolate doesn't melt too much, break the toffee into chunks of the desired size and place into an airtight container. During the breaking of the toffee, you'll lose quite a few almond pieces, but don't worry, this is normal.Because the chocolate isn't tempered, this English toffee should be stored in the refrigerator to keep the chocolate from melting if the room gets warm.
English toffee (makes about 1.5 lbs or 700 g)
| 1 cup (225 g) butter | melt on low | heat until 300°F (150°C) while stirring | stir in | pour onto sheet pan | melt and spread chocolate on top | sprinkle almonds on top | cool in refrigerator and break apart |
| 1 cup (200 g) sugar | |||||||
| 2 tsp. (10 mL) water | |||||||
| 1/8 tsp. (0.8 g) salt | |||||||
| 1 tsp. (5 mL) vanilla extract | |||||||
| 6 oz. (170 g) semisweet chocolate chips | |||||||
| about 1/2 cup (~170 g) chopped almonds | |||||||
I keep mine in an air tight container. Unfortunately, I don't have any toffee left to experiment with, but, next time I make a batch, I'll keep one out of the container and see what happens to it.
I haven't been able to find satisfactory toffee here for baking and eating, so making my own sounds like a wonderful solution. However, I don't have parchment or one of those silicone mats - is there something else I could use instead?
Mixing toffee into Rice Krispie Treats is also delicious. <3
Nathaniel
So if you're going for a softer texture on your butterscotch, add the cold butter later-- it'll hang on to its water content and it'll stop the sugar's heat-up.
I ought to make a batch... but for the last few years I've been being it online for some family and friends for Christmas just so I can have some. If you haven't tried this, it's worth it. So good.
http://www.enstrom.com/
I decided to carry it to the finish, because all it would cost me from that point was a teaspoon of imitation vanilla extract and a small portion of chocolate chips. The candy came out darker than the semi-sweet chocolate was, in color. It's still cooling, but I'm game to take a taste, at least. But it won't be going with me to tonight's party as initially planned.
Thanks!
Rachel
I didn't have parchment paper - actually I've never heard of parchment paper in the baking context.
I read somewhere that we could also use aluminium foil. So i used that and it turned out just fine.
Malaysians tend to like the ones that are more chewy though so i'll make a couple adjustments next time - First thing i gotta do is get a themometer! :o) Thanx for this recipe!
I have lived in england all my life and i have never seen anything like that!
I have lived in england all my life and i have never seen anything like that!
I don't know why toffee+chocolate+almonds is known as English toffee, but butter toffees were first created in England in the late 1800's. My guess is that an American family began to produce these candies and marketed them as English Toffees in the early 1900's. Soon, that's what they were known as: English Toffees. (English muffins have a similar origin story.)
No, I think it will be fine. Even if the chocolate melts a little during transit (perhaps if the package sat in the sun), if you friend lets it cool before eating, the chocolate won't get all over their hands. It might not arrive looking identical to how you prepared it, but it should taste about the same. :)
Thanks!
Rachel
I found that reducing the heat throughout the process, and stirring regularly, will avoid the breaking problem. Even if it looks like it's breaking, it will usually come together fine as long as the heat is not too high.
http://members.cox.net/jjschnebel/engtoff.html
www.arizonatoffee.com
I make probably twenty or thirty batches of toffee a year, for gifts and parties. Over the years I've discovered some variations that you might be interested in.
I usually use a 9x13 pan lined with aluminum foil-that way I can just wrap up the sheet of candy in the foil if I don't have time to break it up and package it once it's cool. No need to butter or otherwise prepare the foil.
I usually pour the candy over a layer of nuts (about half a cup) in addition to spinkling another half cup over the chocolate at the end. I usually use almonds and semi-sweet chocolate, but not always. Chopped peanuts are very good with milk chocolate. So are macadamias and coconut. White chocolate is good with pecans. If you toast the nuts in a dry saucepan right before you use them, they will have a lot more flavor.
I always melt the butter then add the water, sugar, and a tablespoon of corn syrup (it's supposed to help keep the sugar from recrystallizing, although that might just be a useless artifact of my starter recipe.) I use three tablespoons of water-or any other flavored nonalcoholic liquid. I've successfully used strong coffee, strong spiced tea, maraschino cherry juice, and orange juice. Alcohol based flavorings should, of course, go in right at the end.
Sometimes I add a 1 oz square of unsweetened chocolate at about 230 degrees. It's especially good with walnuts, and coffee toffee. Watch it carefully, though-it's more likely to burn.
One of my most popular flavors is coffee toffee. I use coffee instead of water, and I coarsely grind expresso beans, pouring the hot candy over half of them and sprinkling the rest over the chocolate.
I also make a cinnamon white chocolate variety. I use strong spice tea in the syrup, pour the candy over toasted almonds, sprinkle with chopped white chocolate (good-quality real white chocolate doesn't melt as readily as regular chocolate-I usually need to stick in a low oven for a few minutes to melt), and sprinkle with cinnamon. This one is very popular.
Orange juice in the syrup, and curls of orange zest sprinkled over the chocolate is good. Maraschino cherries (well drained and dried!) and their juice in the syrup was tasty, though sticky.
You can also make toffee with brown or tubinado sugar. It tastes wonderful, but watch it carefully-because of the impurities in those sugars that make them taste so good, the syrup burns very easily.
After dumping on to some parchment paper in a cooking sheet, I dumped the excess butter off. It's still very heavy in butter, but tastey none-the-less. Most certainly isn't as smooth as the picture, though. Any idea if it would help to melt everything before adding the sugar, or perhaps cooking it more slowly? This took me about 15 minutes to heat to 300.
If your butter isn't melting fast enough to be stirred into the mixture, then melt it first before you add the sugar. Everything should be combined before the sugar temperature starts to rise up - we need to boil off the water content in the butter as well. If the sugar, water, and butter are mixed, then the sugar's temperature will not rise significantly until most of the water has evaporated.
This toffee can easily last for two or more weeks at room temperature in a sealed container. Technically, it'll be perfectly safe to eat for a few months, but the texture may have altered by then.
This toffee can easily last for two or more weeks at room temperature in a sealed container. Technically, it'll be perfectly safe to eat for a few months, but the texture may have altered by then.[/quote:84f230f2a5]
I have made similar toffee recipes in the past and it appears that while the chocolate and the almonds remain unchanged over time, the butter/sugar toffee layer begins to darken. What exactly is occuring when the toffee darkens?
I made a few more batches of toffee varying the steps a bit until I achieved the result you described - hard candy in a large puddle of oil. I managed to get this result buy melting the butter first and then pouring in the sugar. The butter and sugar never really integrated even after the sugar had melted and seemed to be mixed in.
I now believe that carefully melting the butter and sugar (with a tad of water to help) together at the start is essential to making this recipe work easily. Make sure the two are melted together before bringing the heat up to boil the mixture.
I tried your toffee recipe twice, and got the same result as farjane both times. Today I made some of your fudge, which worked out very well, and sprinkled some toffee pieces into it. I guess I'll have to wait and get a second taste opinion, though (I'm bringing it over to the house of my boyfriend's relatives).
Tip 1: [u:a9f338c1d3]Most important tip of all[/u:a9f338c1d3].....have a coolish [u:a9f338c1d3]DRY[/u:a9f338c1d3] environment in your kitchen.
Tip 2: It sometimes works to add about 1/8 cup of hot water (very slowly so you don't get splattered!) if you notice the mixture starting to separate. Or [u:a9f338c1d3]better yet[/u:a9f338c1d3], just brushing down the crystals forming on the side of the pan and the spoon handle with a pastry brush dipped in water. I felt that the more water added to remedy the situation, the more the final texture was altered (not in a good way) I know adding water sounds contradictory to the humidity explanation above....and that's why it took me so long to figure it out....but it does work. It doesn't cause more crystalization when applied in this way, it just melts the forming crystals and washes them back down into the toffee
Tip 3: I felt that heating the sugar and butter up to quickly (being impatient and setting the burner on high just to get it going) seemed to create a higher likelyhood of separation problems. So be patient...it really doesn't take too long.
Tip 4: Stirring too vigorously also seemed to contribute to separation problems. I [u:a9f338c1d3]do[/u:a9f338c1d3] stir quite regularly, and toward the end I stir constantly, but [u:a9f338c1d3]gently[/u:a9f338c1d3].
STORING TIP: Humidity matters here also. That's why recipes usually recommend an covered/air-tight container. I have had no problem storying mine in the frig [u:a9f338c1d3]BUT[/u:a9f338c1d3] it's very important if you're going to do this, to [u:a9f338c1d3]let it come back to room temperature before allowing it to come into contact with the air in the room[/u:a9f338c1d3]. Any moisture in the room will condense on the surfact of the toffee if it's cold (just like on a cold coke can) and affect the texture of your toffee (it gets sticky) Storing it in the frig, in itself, has never been a problem for me, and I almost think it's even safer in there as the refrigerator air is usually quite dry. However I always keep it covered till it's come to room temp.
I hope I've just saved someone from going through what I went through! This toffee is so absolutely fabulous it's totally worth making! And it's really easy actually.....believe it or not!
I loved this recipe, but I need the recipe (or at least, a similar one) of that type of toffee they put in the Mars bar.
Thank you!
P.S.: I need it urgently! Please! :shock: :shock: 8| 8| :unsure:
Thanks,
Sarah
Thanks!
http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/cesnutrition/Publications/Baking_Food_Storage/AltAdjust.htm
My own thoughts on the recipe are that it works well and is very similar to all other recipes I have seen. As far as stirring goes, it shouldn't increase the chances of separation. I think the idea is to not allow the mixture to stick and burn. I use a double boiler and so I don't really take that risk. However, I still stir constantly and never have separation issues.
On the 3rd batch I decided to lower the heat. While it did not separate it is still too grainy. If Heath made its' bars this way no one would be excited by the prospect of eating them.
I was delighted to find the "Cooking for Engineers" site. I expected a culinary Mr. Wizard or an online Alton Brown.
As I read the questions and comments on this recipe that go back almost a year and recognize that no one has responded I wonder what the value is of having the 'engineer' here?
So, if you can't get your toffee to stay together, please don't just say it doesn't work or separates - please let us know what elevation you are at, and what steps you followed - even if it's the same as the recipe, write down what you did. There's no other way for me to figure this out, and figure it out I do want to do. :)
When I cooked 1st batch at the low-end of Med-High the mix separated at approximately 275 degrees. I was not sure what, if anything, I had done wrong so I made batch 2 the same way as batch one. Same result.
The last batch I made I cooked it in the upper range of Medium. The mix began to mildly separate at 300 degrees but I poured it out on a cookie sheet immediately. I have not thrown it out but I am not willing to give it as a gift yet, my ultimate goal. The consistency if granular. Is this what you get? If so, your recipe may not be what I am looking for. If not, I still need to tweak my procedures.
I don't know how to gauge the effectiveness of my stove's rheostat to deliver a specific level of heat. My minor test program suggests that I need to lower the heat even more to get a better result.
I did not time the cooking process. Have you? Elapsed time would at least allow unsuccessful cooks (that being me) one possible thing to look out for.
BTW I am at 558 elevation. Close enough to sea level but too far from the sea....
Butter, sugar, salt and water went in together over a low-medium burner. I stirred it rarely. When all was melted I increased heat to mid-medium stirring a little more frequently, but not constantly. When temp reached 200-210 I began to stir regularly. Pulled from heat at 300, added the vanilla, mixed thoroughly and poured onto a buttered cookie sheet. Texture of the batter looked fine. It is currently cooling.
Thanks
Tonight I made my second batch according to this particular recipe. Last weeks batch came out perfectly, save that I didn't have any chocolate or nuts. I followed the directions to the letter. Tonight I deviated a little. I melted the butter and sugar together at low-medium heat, gradually increasing the temperature, once I felt the sugar crystals had dissolved. Then stirring only occasionally, I waited on medium-high heat for the temp to rise to 310F. Additionally, as an experiment, I swapped out 1/4 cup of the sugar for the same amount of dark brown sugar, because I wanted to generate a darker color.
The batch is cooling now, and it looks fantastic. I'll write back after I can taste it, to see if the brown sugar had any impact on the texture of the finished product.
Brian
I double checked the thermometer, and it seems to be spot on (at least for the boiling temperature of water). So perhaps a few degrees cooler (not a lot, just a few) might make things better.
Incidentally, if you pull it off too soon, and it doesn't solidify, you *CAN* reheat it very slowly and when it has re-liquified bring it up to the correct temperature. Of course, it is much easier to just do it correctly the first time.
(*Based on my cake baking experience, I buy only C&H pure cane sugar, because every cake baker I've heard from on the subject says the beet sugar doesn't perform the same. For example, my cake decorating instructor says every flower she's made with non-C&H sugar has shattered as it dried. C&H makes a baker's sugar that is easy to find in stores.)
Thanks!
Elevation:3247
Humidity: 36%
Temperature: 76degrees
Electric stove: heated butter, water, salt, & sugar at level 2 (out of 10) - once completely melted, raised temp to level 4.5 (out of 10). Stirred constantly from that point forward. Mixture did not "double" as mentioned in recipe notes...possibly from too much stirring?? At about 210 degrees some of the butter separated from the more solid mixture. I continued stirring a bit longer hoping I could get it back together, but to no avail. I pulled the pan from the heat at about 220 or 230 degrees and poured onto waxed paper. But I was distracted by this "problem" and I forgot to add the vanilla! I tipped the cookie sheet so the butter would run to the edge and then drained it off. My nephews seem to think it's still edible (pure sugar? What do you think??!!) - I went ahead with the chocolate topping, but didn't waste the almonds.
Ingredients:
Morton's Salt
Great Value Unsalted Butter (Wal-Mart Brand)
Whatever sugar was in the big canister in my sister's kitchen
From reading another's post, maybe I cooked it at too low a temperature after I got it melted?
... snip ...
From reading another's post, maybe I cooked it at too low a temperature after I got it melted?
I don't think it the temperature - I've successfully made this with the burners on low the whole time - just takes longer. This is going to be a shot in the dark - try adding more water. Let's say 1/4 cup water instead. I'm a little concerned that your butter didn't even foam up with the sugar before separating (the reason why you need a larger pot than you'd expect), so I think adding some water will help. Maybe all the water is boiling out before the sugar is reaching a high enough temperature - so we try adding a significant amount of water to the recipe. Hopefully, that will help. Let us know what happens.
If the butter melts quickly/unattended and you can see clear yellow mixed with the butterfat, I think you risk the nasty separation scenario you describe later on in heating. Once that happens it is a lost cause. I melt the butter first, very slowly, stirring frequently and once it is melted (but still opaque yellowish white) add the sugar and water and increase heat. Hope this helps.
I've found that the toffee keeps pretty well in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The toffee gets less crispy after about a week or so due to absorption of moisture but should still be fine to eat for a couple more weeks.
One other thing I noticed is the lack of a crystallization inhibitor. The butter helps a little bit to prevent the sugar from precipitating out/re-crystallizing, but if you want a better insurance policy, I'd add a little corn syrup. Corn syrup (or inverted sugar) is pretty standard as a crystallization inhibitor in hard candy.
And, lastly
Once the water has boiled off, the mixture will collapse and thicken. The temperature will also start to rise again.
Sorry to be such a stickler, but the water never 'boils off.' The boiling temperature of the water rises as the dissolved solids become more concentrated. Even at 300 (hard crack stage), there's still a trace amount of water in the toffee.
I have made toffee as holiday gifts for more than 20 years, and as my list has grown, so has my toffee quantity. This year I made more than fifty pounds' worth.
In November of 2005 I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico (altitude 7000 ft.) I wondered (feared!) it would affect toffeemaking, and indeed it did. I did much experimenting last year and this year to fathom the hows and whys, and here is my tuppenceworth:
Whoever said upthread that humidity affects toffeemaking is dead on. It does. Our air here is very dry and that's helpful.
I learned to make toffee by first melting the butter at any heat that wouldn't burn it, then turning it to medium-low and stirring in the butter and cold water. My family recipe included a tablespoon and a half of water at sea level, for the quantities above (cup of water, cup of sugar.) Some years back I switched to double batches (2 cups of each,) which made the water quantity 3 tbsp.
After wasting a couple of pounds of butter and sugar last year, I altered the water content to a little over 2/3 of a cup. That gave me non-separating toffee 75% of the time, the other 25% of the time I had to add more water when it started separating, and re-cook the batch (sometimes twice!) However, I noticed no difference in texture or taste in those batches. So I thought I had the high altitude problem licked.
This year I stocked up on butter when the local co-op was having a sale on Plugra european-style butter. (Normally I go to Costco and buy the 4 1-lb. salted butter solids packs.)
I went through five pounds of butter and sugar before I finally twigged to why the toffee wouldn't toff: "European-style" butters are made by a different process than ordinary pasteurized American butter. It won't work. Period. Fermented butter won't toff, at least not in high altitudes. Back to plain ol' cheap butter.
High altitude requires much more attention to small details of when and how much to stir, where to set the heat at the different stages of toffeemaking, and judging done-ness. I make a carmelized-sugar version of toffee which is (I think) a bit more demanding than the lighter version discussed here, and that may have something to do with it. After 20 years I'm pretty good at judging by feel, smell, and look, which is a good thing because when I tried a candy thermometer last year I ended up with badly burnt toffee (again, I think because of the altitude.)
Summary:
Melt butter
Turn to med-low/low heat, add sugar and water, stir slowly to blend
As it starts foaming, stir regularly and turn the heat up a notch
As the foam subsides to bubbly thick syrup, turn the heat up another notch (heat should now be about med/med-high)
Stir gently, occasionally, as the mixture starts to brown and no crystals are left
As the mixture reaches a light-brown color, begin constant, gentle stirring. It will still feel quite "thick" as you stir.
Steam will begin to puff as larger bubbles in the mixture pop, keep stirring
The mixture will reach a mid-brown, caramel color, and the steam will have a little smoke in it. The burn-ey, toffee-ey smell will become very noticeable. The mixture will feel less thick and more liquid.
Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla and (if using) diced almonds
Turn it out into a nonstick baking sheet and spread
Sprinkle chocolate over top
When chocolate is melted, spread to cover
Sprinkle with powdered or fine-chopped almonds
Refrigerate for an hour or so
Give the baking sheet a