The Best Toffee Recipe That is Surprisingly Easy to Make - Life of Stacy (2024)

FAQs

What is the best pan to make toffee in? ›

I always use a stainless pot – I wouldn't recommend pots with nonstick coating. Basically, a heavy-bottom is a very admirable quality here. 2) Don't stir constantly. Unlike other homemade candy and many caramel recipes that require constant stirring, toffee is different.

Taste is obvious: sweets made with dark brown sugar will have a slightly deeper flavor with those notes of caramel and toffee I mentioned.

Store homemade toffee in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or in the fridge for up to two weeks.

If the two elements melt unevenly it can result in separation. If you have good stovetop burners, we recommend turning them to medium-low to allow the butter and sugar to melt gently in the beginning stages. If the heat is too high, but butter might melt too quickly and can separate from the sugar.

Cream of tartar is a white powder sold in the baking aisle that's commonly used to stabilize whipped egg whites in meringues and cakes, prevent sugar crystallization in candies and caramel, and act as the activating ingredient in baking powder.

For better crunch, add baking soda

Those bubbles remain trapped in the syrup as it cools in the pan, yielding toffee whose consistency is lightly crunchy rather than hard: think light-textured American-style biscotti vs.

Toffee is a hard candy made by cooking a sugar syrup with butter to the hard crack stage, 300–310°F (149–154°C), and then pouring it out to cool. It can have inclusions or not, and it can be made either very dense and hard or can be lightened by adding baking soda when the candy is almost done cooking .

English toffee is the epitome of classic toffee. It's rich and buttery, with a firm snap and a crisp texture that doesn't stick to your teeth. Of course, it's delicious on its own, but it really shines when it's paired with a thick coating of dark chocolate and a sprinkling of nuts.

Should I stir while making toffee? ›

Continue to stir occasionally, the mixture will slowly thicken and will turn a more yellow hue as it cooks, and cook to hard crack (305°F/151°C). Once toffee reaches 305°F/151°C, immediately remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract (careful, it bubbles and steams a bit).

Americanized toffee may include nuts, while a completely traditional British toffee will not. On the other hand, English toffee uses pure cane sugar, brown sugar, or molasses as its sweet base and always involves chocolate.

I find that vigourous stirring keeps the 20 lbs or so of toffee from separating, so that's a good tip. And I've always been told that stirring TOO vigorously can cause separation also.

Adding water to sugar before caramelizing it helps it melt at a more even rate, and helps reduce the risk of crystalization. You only need to add enough water to turn the sugar into a slurry, and it all boils off as you heat the syrup.

You might check the amount of water you are using. If it is more than 1/4 c. per pound, you might be inverting the sugar which would give the same effect of adding corn syrup, making it sticky.

Heavy Bottomed Pot

Don't just go grabbing any old pan—a high-quality, thick-bottomed pan is essential when it comes to making candy. Your ideal candy pan should be at least 3 quarts and heavy, and should distribute heat evenly to keep your caramel from scorching or burning.

Caramel can ruin thin, cheap pans (like mine…), so use a heavy-duty pan. Preferably one that hasn't got a non-stick coating, because these coatings often can't take the high-heat required for caramel-making. If your recipe calls to add a liquid, such as cream, to the caramel, use a very large pan.

This should NOT be a non-stick pan, because non-stick pans allow crystals to be pulled into the cooking toffee and will cause the batch to crystallize. The heavy pan distributes heavy evenly so the toffee cooks without burning.

Low and slow

Simmering the syrup for English toffee to the requisite 300°F temperature can (and should) be a slow process — up to 20 minutes or so. Don't hurry this gradual transformation; syrup that doesn't reach 300°F, or close to it, will make candy with timid flavor and chewy (not crunchy) texture.