Bonfire toffee (also known as treacle toffee or plot toffee) traditionally features on Bonfire Night when people in the UK celebrate the downfall of Guy Fawkes and his Gunpowder Plot. Rich, buttery and deliciously dark, this treacle toffee recipe also makes a great Halloween treat.
Why not also serve some Derbyshire thor black treacle cake at your Bonfire Night celebrations.
🔍 Recipe Snapshot:
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 🍳 Cook Time: 20 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 25 minutes (plus cooling)
- 👥 Servings: 12
- 📊 Calories: 215 kcal per serving
- 🔥 Cook Method: Stovetop
- 👩🍳 Flavour Profile: Rich, sweet, bold, black treacle
- ⭐ Difficulty: Moderate
- 💡 Best For: Bonfire Night, Halloween
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Why I Love This Bonfire Toffee Recipe
- Traditional: This is the bonfire toffee of my childhood. Dark, hard and full of black treacle flavour. Just like Gran used to make!
- Easy: There is nothing complicated about this recipe. Just follow the instructions carefully for perfect results.
- So tasty: Rich, mellow & buttery, this black treacle toffee is deeply delicious.
- Feeds a crowd: A little goes a long way. Since British treacle toffee should be sucked rather than chewed, just a few pieces satisfy most people. It's perfect for sharing.
- Part of British history: Bonfire toffee plays a part in tradition and often appears alongside hotdogs, mushy peas and toffee apples to mark the downfall of Guy Fawkes.
My son has loved bonfire toffee since he was little (the way Grandma makes it, not how the shops sell it!) Found some treacle from last Xmas so thought I'd give it a go. Its amazing!! All the family said how nice it is. Thank you!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lindsay
I've perfected my recipe for treacle toffee and I'm sharing it along with plenty of handy tips. Think trays of glossy bonfire toffee begging to be shattered, plus instructions for making the cutest little treacle toffee lollipops.
Should you need more ideas for seasonal treats, I've also devised a handy Bonfire Night food guide with plenty of recipe suggestions.
What is Bonfire Toffee?
Bonfire toffee is a form of hard candy made from brown sugar, golden syrup and black treacle. Hence the alternative name treacle toffee.
It is as hard as rock and great fun to whack with a toffee hammer or rolling pin to break it into irregular, shiny & beautiful chunks of deep, treacly delight.
The name bonfire toffee comes from the the tradition of serving it on 5th November across the UK as part of the annual Bonfire Night celebrations, marking the downfall of Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot of 1605. Hence the alternative name plot toffee.
Ingredients Notes
There are a few recipes for old-fashioned treacle toffee knocking around and they are all, reassuringly, very similar in terms of ingredients:
Black treacle: This is a common baking ingredient in the UK and it is found in most supermarkets. It is extremely dark in colour which a rich, intense and slightly bitter taste. Outside of the UK try to hunt a tin of black treacle down. If it's not available try bootstrap molasses or black molasses or instead.
Golden syrup: Another key baking ingredient within the UK. Golden syrup is lighter in colour than black treacle and has a sweet, buttery & mellow taste. I do not recommend substituting any other ingredient for it in this traditional treacle toffee recipe. Golden syrup can also be bought online.
Sugar: Use dark brown sugar. Do not use caster sugar or light brown sugar.
Butter: Proper butter is going to give the best flavour to your black treacle toffee. If you need to use a dairy-free alternative use block-style butter substitute and add a pinch of salt to the pan.
Cream of tartar or white wine vinegar: Including one of these ingredients helps prevent the formation of sugar crystals. Don't worry, you won't be able to taste these ingredients and you can use either in my recipe (but not both).
Equipment Notes
To ensure your bonfire toffee reaches the correct temperature to allow a hard set it is essential to use a reliable sugar or food thermometer that can withstand temperatures up to 150℃/ 300℉. I use a Thermapen food thermometer.
I used a 7x8 inch baking tin. You can use a slightly smaller tin for thicker toffee or a slightly larger tin for thinner toffee. You could also use a circular tin (I'd suggest a 7 or 8 inch tin).
If you are making bonfire toffee lollies you will need some silicon lollipop molds that can also withstand heat of up to 150℃/ 300℉. If you are only making a few lollipops ensure you have a tin prepared for the excess toffee to be poured into.
How To Make Bonfire Toffee (Step-By-Step Instructions
Top Tip From Jane
Having the right ingredients won't guarantee perfect hard toffee. A few simple techniques are needed to achieve glossy, shatterable treacle toffee that keeps well for several weeks. Read the recipe and tips from start to finish, so you feel confident at every stage.
- Step 1: Prepare your baking tin - grease & line it with baking parchment.
Put all ingredients into a large, heavy-based saucepan and put it over a medium heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
- Step 2: Turn up the heat slightly and allow the mixture to come to a rolling boil. Stir frequently (at least every minute), to prevent the mixture on the bottom of the pan from burning. Continue to boil until the liquid reaches the hard crack stage (150℃/ 300℉) on a sugar or food thermometer. This will take around 15 minutes.
- Step 3: As soon as the toffee reaches 150℃/ 300℉ take the pan off the heat and stir until the mixture stop bubbling. Carefully pour it into a baking tin lined with baking parchment (or silicon lollipop molds). The tin/ molds will be very hot so avoid touching/ moving them around.
- Step 4: Once completely cold, give the toffee a few firm taps with a toffee hammer/ end of a rolling pin or a pestle to break it up. If using silicon molds, the lollipops should unmold easily.
Storage Instructions
Once fully cooled, keep treacle toffee in an airtight container and store at room temperature away from humidity. If your toffee has been broken into chunks, seperate layers with baking parchment. Stored like this it will stay fresh for around 2 weeks.
Note: If left in the open bonfire toffee will become sticky (but it will still be edible and delicious).
Expert Tips
Here are my tips to help you achieve perfect, rock hard Bonfire Toffee:
- Pay close attention to the quantities of cream of tartar and white wine vinegar: This treacle toffee recipe calls for 1 tbsp of vinegar or just ¼ tsp cream of tartar - quite a difference.
- Line your baking tin with baking parchment: While some recipes suggest simply greasing the tin, I have had mixed results. Using baking parchment ensures that the toffee won't weld itself to the tin and guarantees easy removal every time.
- Use a large heavy based saucepan: Ingredients should only fill about a quarter of the pan. As the toffee boils it will rise significantly and, if the pan is too small, it will take longer to reach the required temperature, or worse, boil over and make a horrible mess.
- Do not make this recipe with small children: The toffee is going to reach a very high temperature so it is not suitable to make with small children.
- Do not taste the toffee as it cooks: The liquid toffee burns your lips, mouth and tongue severely because it is incredibly hot.
- Do not multi-task: If you get side-tracked on another task toffee may burn. It may even boil over.
- If making bonfire toffee lollipops never use metal molds: The toffee will weld itself to metal and no amount of tapping will set these lollipops free in one piece. Spoken from the voice of experience!
- Protect your worktops: Put the prepared tin and silicon molds onto heatproof mats to protect kitchen worktops and tables from the heat of the toffee when it is first poured into the tin and molds.
Follow these rules for a perfect slab of rock hard British Bonfire Toffee - but promise me you'll suck it. This toffee really is as hard as rock.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but for perfect results every time use a sugar or digital food thermometer. Without one, drop a small amount of the hot mixture into a bowl of iced water. If it snaps easily it has reached the hard crack stage and is ready. If it bends, return the pan to the heat for another minute and test again. Repeat until it snaps.
Black treacle is a very British product widely available in UK supermarkets but harder (and often more expensive) to find elsewhere.
Molasses can be used as a substitute, though it lacks the distinctive bitterness present in black treacle. This will, of course, affect the final taste and colour of your hard toffee. Blackstrap molasses, with a stronger & slightly bitter flavour, is a closer match and worth trying if you have some to hand.
If the toffee does not reach the hard crack stage (150℃/ 300℉) it will not set completely hard. Don't worry, you can store soft toffee in the freezer to firm it up. Once it's in your mouth, the texture won't matter - it will still taste wonderfully rich, buttery, sweet and treacly.
Traditionally served on Bonfire Night in the UK, treacle toffee also works well for Halloween - especially when presented as cute lollipops. Wrap them in cellophane to hand out to your spooky visitors.
Bonfire toffee is most commonly enjoyed in the north of England and The Midlands. Some people call it Yorkshire bonfire toffee, which suggests Yorkshire origins. It is also popular in Scotland, where they call it claggum and in Wales where they call it loshin du.
Variations
- Chewy treacle toffee: To make a softer, chewy version of this treacle toffee recipe cook your mixture to the soft ball stage (115℃/ 235℉). Let it cool completely then cut it into pieces.
- Ginger bonfire toffee: Perfectly fitting for the season. Add in 1-2 teaspoons of ground ginger depending how punchy you would like it to be.
- Pumpkin spice toffee: Use your favourite pumpkin spice blend or swap it for chai spice.
This post is dedicated to my lovely maternal Gran. She made the most amazing treacle toffee for my family Bonfire Night celebrations every year in my childhood.
More Bonfire Night Recipes
Read my guide on catering for Bonfire Night or try the following recipes:
Have you made this recipe for treacle toffee? Is it just like the stuff of your childhood too? Please leave a review to let me know what you thought of it.
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📖 Recipe
Bonfire Toffee (traditional treacle toffee)
Equipment
- 1 Large, heaved-based saucepan
- 1 Sugar or food thermometer such as a Thermapen
- 1 Baking tin (I used a 7x8 inch tin but you can use a slightly smaller tin for thicker toffee or a slightly larger tin for thinner toffee. You could also use a circular tin (I'd suggest a 7 or 8 inch tin)).
Ingredients
- 450 g Dark Brown Sugar
- 125 ml Water
- 125 g Golden Syrup See notes on substitutions
- 100 g Black Treacle See notes on substitutions
- 25 g Butter
- 1 tablespoon White wine vinegar or ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions
- Before you start read the recipe notes for all of my cooking tips
- Grease & line a metal baking tin with baking parchment and put on a flat, heatproof surface. Also lay any silicon lollipop molds on a flat, heatproof surface
- Put all ingredients into a large, heavy-based saucepan and put over a medium heat. Cook until all sugars have dissolved and the liquid is smooth and dark
- Turn up the heat (medium high) and boil, stirring frequently, until the liquid reaches the hard crack stage (150℃/ 300℉) on a food/ sugar thermometer. This will take around 15 minutes - be patient and do not leave the pan unattended since it could boil over and/ or the toffee could overcook and burn
- As soon as the toffee reaches 150C/ 300F, tip it into your tin and/or molds and leave to cool completely
- Once cool, give the toffee a few firm taps with a toffee hammer or the end of a rolling pin to break it up. If using silicon molds, the lollipops should unmold easily.
- Store in an airtight tin (using baking parchment to keep layers of toffee seperate) or wrap up in boxes or cellophane bags to give as gifts
Notes
- Pay attention to the quantities of cream of tartar and white wine vinegar: This recipe calls for 1 tbsp of vinegar or ¼ tsp cream of tartar - quite a difference.
- Line your baking tins with baking parchment: Although some recipes suggest greasing the baking tin and pouring the toffee in, I have had mixed results. Lining the tin with parchment removes the risk that the toffee will weld itself to the tin and refuse to come out.
- Use a large heavy based saucepan: The ingredients should come just ¼ up the side of the pan when added. As the toffee cooks it will bubble and boil, rising up the side of the pan significantly. If your pan is too small the toffee will take a long time to reach the required temperature. And, if it boils over, onto your hob, it will be nasty to clean up.
- Do not make this recipe with small children: The toffee is going to reach a very high temperature.
- Do not be tempted to taste the toffee as it cooks: you will burn your lips, mouth and tongue severely.
- Do not multitask. It is easy to burn your toffee if you get sidetracked on another task. Even worse, it may overflow.
- Do not use metal molds if making bonfire toffee lollipops: Toffee welds itself to metal and no amount of teasing or bashing will shift these lollipops out. How do I know? The voice of experience and 24 hours of soaking my pops out of metal molds.
- Store the toffee as soon as it has cooled entirely in an airtight container. If you have already broken the toffee into chunks use baking parchment to separate the layers. Store at room temperature and avoid a humid environment.
- If left in the open bonfire toffee will become sticky: But it will still be edible and delicious.
Carol says
Please don't trouble to reply to my previous query - I have read the beginning section of your blog (which I hadn't done before, just jumped to the recipe and notes) and see that you mention there that there is no good alternative to golden syrup so have just been out to buy some. Looking forward to making the toffee now! Will leave a review later.
Carol says
Hi Jane, looking forward to making this for Saturday! I find I haven't enough Golden syrup left and can't see a note about substitution - could honey be used instead? If not, I'll have to go shopping! 🙏
Jane Coupland says
Hi Carol, I don't recommend anything other than Golden Syrup I'm afraid - honey has a very different taste, so it's not suitable. Sorry... seems I'm sending you off to the shops, but I hope you enjoy it once made.
Eleanor says
This was gorgeous! So easy and tasty I immediately made another batch. Thank you for stressing the importance of reading all the notes thoroughly before starting, as once the sugar starts boiling you're definitely in babysitting mode.
If I wanted an even stronger treacle taste could I tweak the golden syrup/treacle ratio? Would adding salt just be weird?
Thanks again.
Jane Coupland says
Hello Eleanor - yay for Bonfire Night and Bonfire Toffee - the food is the best bit for me (I know it's a very divided opinion on bonfires and fireworks these days and I see the arguments against them). As for increasing the black treacle, yes, there's no harm. Just stay extra vigilant with the temperature as it will be even less forgiving if cooked too far. And salt is a lovely idea - for my recipe I'd go with 1/2 tsp of sea salt flakes (like Maldon) for a subtle salted-edge to your toffee but for a more pronounced salted version I *think* you could push it to 1tsp of sea salt flakes.
If you're a lover of black treacle have you spotted my Thor Cake recipe? And if you love creative salty treats, then have a look at my salted honey hot chocolate (my favourite hot chocolate ever) and my salted honey ice cream (again, one of my favourites amongst tough competition).
Jane says
I hope you enjoy this recipe and find the recently added step-by-step guide useful.
Amy says
Your recipe saved our first failed attempt—the addition of butter and cooking to 300F was crucial to success!
Very yummy! We live in the US and used blackstrap molasses instead of black treacle.
Jane Coupland says
Oh wow! Very glad you were able to resurrect it - yes, the temperature is key to success with this recipe. Delighted to hear that blackstrap molasses worked well too - I thought they would but couldn't test as I've never seen them over here in the UK! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and review - very much appreciated as it helps other readers have confidence in my recipe.
Lindsey says
My son has loved bonfire toffee since he was little (the way Grandma makes it, not how the shops sell it!) Found some treacle from last Xmas so thought id give it a go. Its amazing!! All the family said how nice it is. Thank you!
Jane Saunders says
Wow, so pleased you've made it then. You're right - nothing like the stuff in shops (though I haven't seen that for years and years). This is the stuff my Gran used to serve up too. I've just poured a batch into a tin ready for tonight and I'll be thinking happy thoughts about my Gran as I take my first taste. She was amazing.
dennis says
mine has turned out so hard. it is just about impossible to eat! can it be softened at all?
Jane Saunders says
Hi Dennis - it should be rock hard - it's intended for shattering with a hammer or rolling pin then sucking pieces in your mouth until it dissolves - like a boiled sweet. If you want to make the next batch chewy rather than hard cook it to 125C instead of 150C.Hope that helps. Sadly, I am not sure that it can be softened at this stage.