Bonfire Toffee (Treacle Toffee)
Bonfire toffee is also known as Treacle Toffee or Plot Toffee and is traditionally eaten on Bonfire Night when the UK celebrates the downfall of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder plot. Rich, buttery and deliciously dark, this hard toffee also makes a great Halloween treat.
Servings: 12
Calories: 215kcal
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
- 450g/ 1 lb Dark Brown Sugar
- 125ml/ ½ cup Water
- 125g/ 4 ½ oz Golden Syrup See notes on substitutions
- 100g/ 3 ½ oz Black Treacle See notes on substitutions
- 25g/ 1 oz Butter
- Either 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
Here are my tips to help you achieve perfect, rock hard Bonfire Toffee:
- 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.
Nutrition
Calories: 215kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 26mg | Potassium: 175mg | Sugar: 50g | Vitamin A: 52IU | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 1mg
