The BEST English Toffee Recipe That Everyone Will Love (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between toffee and English toffee? ›

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.

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. Think you can save time by bringing the syrup to a full rolling, popping boil in order for it to darken more quickly? Think again.

Stirring too quickly or too often can cause the toffee to separate. Moderate the heat as needed – turn it down if the toffee is boiling or cooking too fast so it doesn't burn. Cook until the toffee registers 285-290 degrees on an instant-read or candy thermometer and is deep amber brown in color, about 20-25 minutes.

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.

But overcooked toffee will be just slightly crunchier (almost unrecognizably). So, always err on the side of over-cooking! Tip 2 explains how to do so! In order to avoid your chocolate turning white, you'll want to let it set in a room temperature spot without exposure to any drafts.

The fat content in butter contributes to the smooth and velvety texture of the toffee, making it more enjoyable to eat. Preventing Sugar Crystallization: The presence of butter helps to inhibit sugar crystallization during the cooking process. Sugar crystals can cause a grainy texture in the toffee.

Brittles and toffees accumulate small amounts of acid from the browning reactions that occur during cooking. This is one reason why the baking soda is added at the end of cooking. The soda reacts with the acid to make bubbles, and the syrup foams.

If the butterfat separates out then usually this is due to the mixture being either heated or cooled too quickly, which "shocks" the mixture and causes the fat to separate out. It can also be caused by the mixture being heated unevenly (if the pan has a thin base and has hot spots).

You need a very sturdy pan which is KEY to even heat distribution. Thinner, cheaper pans can scorch the cooking candy and/or cook it unevenly. Here are some great choices: Anolon Nouvelle Copper and Cooks Standard. I own a couple pricier copper pots because of the amount of candy I make.

This means that as boiling continues, a portion of the sugar separates into its constituent parts—glucose and fructose. Adding cream of tartar and a dash of vinegar to a toffee recipe helps bring about this change.

Why does the butter separate when making English toffee? ›

Again, in the beginning stages of making the toffee, you can get separation if you heat the mixture too high too quickly. Not only will the high heat affect how evenly the butter and sugar melt together, but the high heat can also cause the water to evaporate too quickly.

Once boiling, cook, stirring only 2 to 3 times, until it turns a dark amber color and the temperature reaches 285 degrees F (137 degrees C) on a candy thermometer, 20 to 30 minutes. Immediately pour toffee into the prepared baking dish.

Using a candy thermometer is the most precise way to tell when your toffee is done. If you want to use a candy thermometer, you will want to cook the toffee until it reaches about 300℉/149℃.

Use chopped chocolate instead of chips, and the chocolate layer will be more likely to stick. Chocolate chips have a non-melting coating to help them keep their shape. But when they melt, the coating can prevent the chocolate from sticking to the toffee.

There are many types of candy, both here in the U.S. and across the pond in the British Isles, referred to as toffee. In America, English toffee usually refers to a candy made with slow-cooked sugar and butter, forming a brittle, which is then coated in chocolate and nuts.

Toffee is butterscotch that has been cooked for a longer period of time. Toffee begins as a base of butter and brown sugar that is gradually cooked to the hard-crack sugar stage between 295 and 309 degrees Fahrenheit.

Toffee vs Butterscotch

While butterscotch is cooked to a soft-crack stage, toffee is produced by allowing that same butter and brown sugar mixture to reach the hard-crack stage. Butterscotch tends to be chewy and pliable; toffee is brittle and more breakable.

The name “English toffee” comes from the crunchy “toff” sound the candy makes when you bite into it. As the candy became popular, shops began selling it under the name “English toffee” or sometimes just “toffee.”