Caramel Toffee Recipe Without Nuts - Major Hoff Takes A Wife (2024)

FAQs

What is the best pan to make toffee in? ›

1) Use a heavy-bottom saucepan. This is important as the thicker base means more even heat distribution which means less chance of burning. Thin-bottom, cheaply made pots should stay far away from toffee making. I always use a stainless pot – I wouldn't recommend pots with nonstick coating.

Low and slow

Simmering the syrup for English toffee to the requisite 300°F temperature can (and should) be a slow process — up to 20 minutes or so. 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.

Toffee vs Caramel

The difference between toffee and caramel is that caramel is made with white granulated sugar and cooked to 340 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas toffee is made with butter and brown sugar and cooked to 295 - 309 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sugar Stages Temperature Comparison

For a soft crack candy, like butterscotch, you'd want a temperature of 270 to 290 degrees. This will leave the percentage of sugar at around 95%. For a hard crack candy, like toffee, you'd aim for a temperature of 300 to 310 degrees and a 99% sugar concentration.

Made with just sugar and a little water, toffee is easy to make and is an easy introduction to the world of confectionary. This recipe includes a dash of vinegar which will help keep the colour of the toffee clear and bright and banish any cloudiness.

Taste is obvious: sweets made with dark brown sugar will have a slightly deeper flavor with those notes of caramel and toffee I mentioned.

Rub the cube of butter around the sides of the pan before adding sugar. This will help keep sugar crystals from clinging to the sides. When adding the sugar, place it in the center of the pan to keep sugar crystals off the pan sides. During cooking, occasionally wash the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in water.

You might wonder why the toffee recipe includes baking soda. It is added at the end of the boiling stage and creates lots and lots of bubbles. These bubbles help to lighten the texture of the finished toffee, resulting in an easier-to-bite candy.

If you don't stir the toffee often as it's cooking, the toffee can separate. Once the toffee reaches 250 F degrees, stir the toffee frequently to make sure the ingredients stay together. The toffee can also separate if the temperature is too high and it gets too hot too fast. So keep the temperature around medium heat.

Is there a difference between taffy and toffee? ›

Is toffee the same as taffy? Taffy is in no way, shape, or form toffee. Taffy describes chewy fruit candies, whereas toffee is closer to caramel.

Caramel can be produced in so many forms such as, sauce, a chewy candy, or a hard candy because of how much of an ingredient is added and the temperature it is being prepared at.

The difference between caramel and toffee is greater, as caramel has a more liquid consistency and is usually pure sugar (it doesn't contain butter or flour). Still, the taste of caramel, fudge, and toffee is relatively similar, as they are all made from mostly sugar (as well as butter in the case of fudge and toffee).

Ingredients: Toffee consists of sugar and butter, while caramel comprises sugar, water, and cream—or just sugar. Temperature: Confectioners cook toffee to the hard-crack stage, around 310 degrees Fahrenheit, resulting in its signature craggy shards.

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Heavy Bottomed Pot

Don't just go grabbing any old pan—a high-quality, thick-bottomed pan is essential when it comes to making candy. Your ideal candy pan should be at least 3 quarts and heavy, and should distribute heat evenly to keep your caramel from scorching or burning.

Caramel can ruin thin, cheap pans (like mine…), so use a heavy-duty pan. Preferably one that hasn't got a non-stick coating, because these coatings often can't take the high-heat required for caramel-making. If your recipe calls to add a liquid, such as cream, to the caramel, use a very large pan.

This should NOT be a non-stick pan, because non-stick pans allow crystals to be pulled into the cooking toffee and will cause the batch to crystallize. The heavy pan distributes heavy evenly so the toffee cooks without burning.