bad temper toffee
Recipe: almond toffee
We didn’t get around to making toffee during my pastry skills class. I just remembered Chef Shan shouting, “and if you add cream to this, you end up with toffee!” Toward the end of the ten weeks, I asked him for a toffee recipe and he said he couldn’t give the secret recipe away. Okay, I understand – confectioner’s secret. Chef Will was the same way with his toffee recipe. I watched his perfectly square blocks of gorgeous toffee while he demonstrated tempering to the professional pastry students.
I looked online, looked in books, looked online some more and settled on a recipe in Candymaking (Kendrick and Atkinson) to begin my foray into toffee today.
ingredients
Dealing with candy makes me more nervous than baking yeast breads because of the elevation adjustment. I can handle tanking a loaf of bread, but it doesn’t stress me out quite the way a pot of hot seized sugar does. But this was remarkably easy and well-behaved. I heated the toffee to 343F instead of 360F (minus 17 degrees for 8500 ft.). I think next time I’ll add the almonds a little later as they were a little toastier than I like in my toffee.
pour it out and score it as it sets
break up the pieces
I also hadn’t tempered chocolate since class ended in June, so I tempered about 12 ounces of Guittard. I forgot how quickly the temperature shoots up. After agitating and seeding, it was ready for pouring.
pour chocolate over the slabs
Most folks like to sprinkle fleur de sel on their toffee, but I don’t happen to have any in my cupboards. I do have a nice selection of lovely salts that Emily sent me last winter – black Mexican smoked salt, grey sea salt from France, and this…
hawai’ian pink sea salt
It has a mild smoky flavor and delicate salt burst on the tongue. I thought I’d top the toffee off with this just for kicks. I do miss that wonderful crunch of the fleur de sel, but I think I prefer the more even distribution from the pink sea salt.
sprinkle the salt
We took the pup for a walk while the chocolate cooled and the sun made its way toward the horizon. Summery aspen stands are beginning to show the tiniest hints of autumn’s approach and the undergrowth is beginning to glow the gold of the Rockies.
hints of what is to come
gold in the hills
By the time we got home I noticed the toffee was set and… bloomed. I knew the temperature got a little too high. Darn. Jeremy didn’t seem to mind. I stood there frowning at the pile of bloomed chocolate on the toffee and he assured me that I’m learning and hey! look at all of this delicious toffee! It’s just like freshman chem lab.
back to the drawing board
Almond Toffee
[print recipe]
from Candymaking (Kendrick and Atkinson)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup blanched almonds, sliced or chopped
1 cup butter
12 oz. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
salt (optional)
Butter a 15″x10″ jellyroll pan (I used a silpat); set aside. In a saucepan, combine corn syrup, water, and sugar. Heat on high (360°F or 180°C). Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, bring mixture to a boil. Add almonds (I would add these much later) and butter; stir until almonds are brown. [Jen’s note: the mixture will be pale yellow and it will bubble for several minutes while you stir. Watch the temperature, keep stirring, and as it passes the hard crack stage, it will begin turning darker as the temperature rises. When it reaches 360°F, remove from heat.] Pour candy into prepared pan. As candy begins to set, score lines with a heavy knife. Allow candy to cool completely at room temperature. Break along scored lines. Temper chocolate and pour over candy or enrobe pieces. Sprinkle salt on top before chocolate has set. Makes 1 1/2 pounds.
September 5th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Darling Yuie! I can’t wait to try this toffee. Will it scratch my Heath Bar itch? You know we don’t have those over here, and I used to like to smash them up roughly and add to ice cream. If I remember well, your JD and I share a faxation on the Ben and Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar. Perhaps I can create something similar here in my White Mountain ice cream churn…
Ideas!
September 5th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Fixation, not faxation. This, you have come to expect from me. X
September 6th, 2007 at 1:16 am
well my dear kell, i think it will satisfy the heath bar cravings if you add the nuts at the last minute. this batch has a strong flavor of toasted almonds (like, really toasted, but not quite burnt). i actually want to try it with pistachios or hazelnuts. and we *did* mix them up with some ice cream! delicious. your bday is in another day, no? package will be late – but i promise i will send it this month. i just don’t know if i will finish henry’s present by then!
March 27th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
My uncle Jesse worked for the Heath Company in Robinson literally from it’s inception as a dairy. He became plant manager in the forties, and on one visit, Mr. Heath came out to my dad’s car and brought me a vanilla ice cream cone – the best ice cream with a unique flavor that I have never experienced since. To my knowledge, the original toffee recipe has never been duplicated, but I am going to work with this version and try to get it right. All my living cousins are willing to be taste critics. I will be selling the final version in my Sugar & Spice bakery in Grand Rivers, Ky.
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Marilyn – wow, that’s cool! I hope you get it right!! :)
September 6th, 2012 at 11:12 am
Yummy! Just wondering what kind of saucepan you recommend for candy making? I’ve been using a glass pot and the thermometer never gets up as high as the recipe recommends. This toffee still turned out excellent although I almost burnt it waiting for it to get up to 360f. I don’t think I have another pot that would be better so I may invest in a new one and was hoping you could recommend a material that is great for candy? Thanks so much! <3
September 6th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Emily – I really like my stainless steel all-clad saucepan for candy making. I don’t have experience with glass pots, but stainless lasts forever and you can beat the hell out of it. Just make sure you have bar keepers friend on hand to scrub the stubborn stains out. Good luck!
December 22nd, 2012 at 10:39 pm
I was looking for a toffee recipe and lo and behold…here is yours. Thanks for saving the day!!