Ultimate English Toffee

English toffee, made the proper, scientific way, and coated with either milk chocolate and almonds, or white chocolate and pistachios. Or both! A double-whammy of sweet holiday delight.

We couldn’t let Christmas come and go without reposting this. It’s one of our earliest posts, but one of our very favorite recipes and something we make every single year for family parties. It just may be the toffee of your (my) dreams and while I may be indulging in a tiny bit of hyperbole, once you try it, you’ll know that I might be dramatic, but I am not a liar. In the past, I proclaimed this Salted Caramel Sauce the best thing ever and I stand by that. It’s just that there’s room on the pedestal for that sauce’s cousin from across the pond, real English toffee.  

FACT: This toffee is so good, it caused this face from Loki, this one from Arya, and best of all, this one from Matt. Okay, nerd business done.

While other toffee types are available, this toffee is hard and brittle, and thin enough that you won’t need a tiny hammer to break it up.

Why This Toffee Works

I’ve made a lot of toffee recipes over the years and this one is by far the tastiest and the easiest. It not only has a really nice balance of sweet and salty but a clever secret. The addition of a very small amount of corn syrup pretty much eliminates the danger of the sugar crystallizing (this has happened to us a few times, and can be a real bummer). This problem is caused when the sugar crystals start a chain reaction of crystallization (the process of sugar particles clinging together) which makes the mixture grainy. Once it happens there’s not much you can do about it, but there are a few things that will help prevent it from starting.

Here a few tips that will help you have a successful toffee making experience.

Necessary Equipment

  • A large, heavy-bottomed pot like this. This will prevent the caramel from scorching and is large enough to handle the bubbling cauldron of super-hot sugar that you’ll be dealing with. (I know this pot costs a fortune, but I’ve had mine for 7 years now and I use it pretty much every day. It is a great investment. You can also find it on sale sometimes).
  • A candy thermometer like this. You need to bring the mixture up to 300° F  (149° C) which is very hard to do by eye. If you do a lot of cooking / candy making, this Thermapen is a great investment. I find it so much easier to use than those clip-on ones.

 Useful Equipment

  • silicone spatula like this. Toffee sticks to everything so it’s useful for stirring.
  •  Two silpats. You could use buttered parchment, but silpats are so much easier and require no buttering.

Tips

  • Melt butter and sugar over a medium-high heat,  stirring the whole time.
  • Once the sugar is melted, bring the temperature down to medium (you want a steady but not rolling boil), and stir, stir, stir.
  • Once the temperature hits 285°F (137°C), get ready to add the vanilla (it will jump to 300°F very quickly). It’s OK to let it go a little higher, but don’t allow it to reach 320°F (160°C) which is where the sugar itself starts to melt: you will burn your toffee. The hard-crack stage is the point at which all the water has boiled off.

Here you can see the transformation from liquid butter/sugar to toffee.

Ultimate English ToffeeUltimate English Toffee

The Recipe

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5 from 1 vote

Ultimate English Toffee

English toffee, made the proper, scientific way, and coated with either milk chocolate and almonds, or white chocolate and pistachios. Or both! A double-whammy of sweet holiday delight.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dessert, Holiday, Party food
Cuisine: british
Servings: 3 lbs
Author: Emily Clifton, Nerds with Knives

Equipment

  • Instant-read thermometer

Ingredients

  • 2 cups butter
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

For Dark Chocolate (halve this amount if making both toppings)

  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup slivered almonds toasted
  • 1 teaspoon Maldon Salt or other flaky sea salt

For White Chocolate (halve this amount if making both toppings)

  • 2 cups white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup shelled salted pistachios coarsely chopped

Instructions

  • Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.
  • In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, syrup and salt. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the butter is melted.
  • Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture has reached 300-310° F (149-154° C) - DO NOT let it reach 320°F (160°C)
  • Remove toffee from heat and stir in vanilla.
  • Pour half the mixture onto each prepared baking sheet. (If you want, you can sprinkle some of the nuts on the baking sheet before pouring on the toffee).
  • Wait about a minute, until the toffee is set but still hot and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Let chocolate soften for 5 minutes.
  • Spread the chocolate into a thin even layer (make sure chocolate is thick enough to hold the nuts).
  • Sprinkle with Maldon salt and almonds (or the pistachios).
  • Refrigerate until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container. You will lose a few of the nuts when you break it up, but there should still be plenty left on top.
Tried this recipe?Mention @NerdsWithKnives or tag #nerdswithknives!

 

7 thoughts on “Ultimate English Toffee”

  1. The besetting sin of English confectionery has long been excessive, even extreme sweetness at the cost of real flavour.I will make this but not with milk chocolate, which even at its best is strictly for kids. Might try melting some Lindt 70% bars. Wont have white chocolate in the house–it’s even worse than milk chocolate. Your recipe indicate this this is a project that require the cook’s undivided attention to avoid failure. Will keep that in mind. Thanks for this–I hope it will replace Heath Bars, which seem to have disappeared.

    Reply
  2. 5 stars
    Hey Nerds! Just letting you know, we tackled this one for our Christmas Cookie exchange this year (the only Christmas tradition that we are able to participate in due to stupid COVID…). SUCH a great recipe, I feel like a real confectioner now. It was my first attempt at making candy, but obviously now I’m a pro -thanks to your fantastic instruction. 😉 I bought a heavy bottomed saucepan and candy thermometer just for the occasion (definitely necessary). Just wanted to thank you both for, yet one more, outstanding recipe! Sending good wishes and happy thoughts your way! Much love!

    Reply
    • So glad it worked well for you! It’s fun, isn’t it? We haven’t even started our batches this year yet. Gotta get in it. We miss you guys and can’t wait to see you when all this is over ❤️❤️❤️

      Reply
  3. I started using your recipe last Christmas season. Made 4 batches and all came out wonderful! My older recipe was a hit and miss. So, i was looking for a better recipe and yours’ really is amazing. I’ve been making English Toffee for about 20 years. Love it! I think the the corn syrup makes all the difference!!

    Reply

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