Sunday 17 October 2010

Clear Your Plate: Treacle Toffee



This is the taste of my childhood.


It takes me right back to munching bags of treacle toffee on Bonfire Night, the smell of fireworks in the air. It's a very simple recipe and the only real thing to watch for is that the toffee must get to the right temperature, otherwise it won't harden properly and will be more of a caramel texture.


Ingredients:

225g dark brown sugar
225g treacle
2 tbsp cider vinegar
50g butter, cut into slices

Makes approx 1lb of toffee


Method:

1. Put sugar, treacle and vinegar in a large, high sided saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar is completely dissolved
2. Bring, very slowly, to boiling point. Keep the mixture boiling for 6 minutes, stirring ocassionally, but watch it doesn't boil over
3. Stir in the butter, bit by bit
4. Continue to boil to the "soft crack" stage, (to test, place a little of the toffee into a bowl of cold water. If it goes hard but pliable between finger and thumb then it is ready)
5. Remove from the heat and pour gently into a well greased shallow tin about 9 inches square
6. When cool mark into squares and then, when cold, break into pieces
7. Wrap in greaseproof paper or keep in an airtight tin


8. Do not, REPEAT NOT, send me your dental bills.