English Toffee
Sugar, water, butter, and chopped almonds are cooked together until they caramelize to make this rich and chewy classic confection. Cut into rectangular shapes, dipped in chocolate, and covered with chopped almonds, these are hard to resist.
Recipe information
Yield
60 pieces
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Coat a metal rolling pin, pizza wheel, and marble board or the back of a baking sheet with the vegetable oil; set aside. Cut the butter into a few pieces and melt in a 3-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar, the water, and the salt; increase the heat to medium and cook the mixture until it registers 260°F on a sugar thermometer (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. Add 1/2 cup of the almonds and continue cooking until the mixture becomes golden brown and registers 305°F on the thermometer (about 8 minutes), stirring constantly.
Step 2
Remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour the mixture onto the oiled board. With the oiled rolling pin, quickly spread out the mixture very thin. It is necessary to work fast, because the mixture sets up rapidly and becomes too brittle to cut. While still warm, with the oiled pizza wheel score the toffee into pieces that are 1 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Let these centers set until cooled to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
Step 3
Melt and temper the chocolate (see pages 25–30). Either dip the toffee in chocolate immediately, or store it in a tightly covered container at room temperature. If left exposed to the air, the toffee will absorb moisture and become soft.
Step 4
Line 3 baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups almonds on one of the prepared baking sheets. Dip a toffee piece into the tempered chocolate, coating it completely. With a dipper or fork, remove the toffee from the chocolate, gently shake off the excess chocolate, and drop the toffee into the chopped almonds. Roll the toffee in the almonds, coating it thoroughly, and turn out onto the paper-lined sheets to set up completely, or chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. In a tightly covered container wrapped in several layers of aluminum foil, the toffee will keep for 2 months in the refrigerator.
VARIATION
Step 5
Substitute milk chocolate for the bittersweet chocolate.
