This recipe comes from Wolfgang Puck. The guy knows what he's doing....so much so that it took me not one, not two, but THREE tries to perfect this toffee. If it wasn't so good I'd be cursing it, but WOW. I'm a sucker for toffee- Heath Bars are my absolute favorite- and these were Heath Bars elevated to another level. I brought some of this to class with me and people loved it, as well as sharing it with some other friends and they too loved it! As a matter of fact, I'm munching on some as I type this and couldn't be happier. I'm so glad that I know how to make this because not only is it delicious, but it would make great gifts for the holidays (or any day, really). We're going to walk through this process together, look at my mistakes, and see how the toffee SHOULD look.
Ingredients:
- 10 ounces whole unblanched almonds (whatever that is...I just did a couple handfuls)
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1/3 cup water or rum (I used rum and you couldn't taste the alcohol...no worries)
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
- candy thermometer
- Toast your almonds at 400 degrees for 7 or so minutes (don't walk away- you will forget them and they will burn. never fails)
- You can chop them roughly if you want to, I did not.
- Make the toffee: Place sugar in a small deep saucepan. Add the corn syrup and water/rum and, over medium heat, bring to a boil. Let boil until medium/large bubbles form on the surface, 3 to 4 minutes. Cover and boil 5 minutes longer.
- Add your cut up butter into the pot (see below what it will look like) and let it cook on a medium boil until your candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees, "about 30 minutes" (as Wolfgang Puck claims). Then, add your salt and baking soda.
(this picture is during the boiling process, before the salt and baking soda are added. At this point, it's getting close to being done.)
- it was around this time that I thought I had plenty more time until the toffee was done. The timer wasn't close to being done, so I just walked away and this is what happend:
- this, my friends, is a perfect example of overcooked toffee, which I don't even know if you can recognize through the smoke. The house smelled like cotton candy, which was the good news, but unfortunately, this pot took an act of congress to clean and it's all because I walked away. Let me break it down for you:
- the recipe says to cook the toffee for 30 minutes. FALSE. It does not take NEARLY this long for the toffee to reach 300 degrees. Pay attention to your thermometer, NOT your timer!
- the SECOND the thermometer's red line starts creeping up to 300 degrees, take that sucker OFF the heat (the heat in the pot will continue to allow the temp to rise) and add your salt and baking soda. Whisk together.
- If it starts rising past 300 (and it will- or at least mine did), start spraying some super cold water on the bottom of the pot like a frantic person (like me) OR, have a bowl of ice water ready (just in case....I'm not saying your toffee won't turn out beautifully without having to take extreme measures to protect it, but let's face it: this stuff is tough to make and it is delicate! Just in case it starts rising past 300 degrees, you'll be ready).
- So, take two:
"Help me! Help me! I'm getting too hot and dark!" But did Mer Mer listen? No. I just tried to convince myself that I had achieved a beautiful "dark amber" color and continued to pour it into my non-stick aluminum foil
It looks like chocolate. This is NOT what your toffee should look like!
- THIS is what your toffee should look like when you pour it into your NON-STICK aluminum foil (or you could just coat a pan with non-stick cooking spray)
THIS is good lookin' toffee.
- Ok so after the toffee hit 300 degrees, I added my baking soda and salt and whisked it all together.
- I poured it into some non-stick aluminum foil that was folded up to form a rectangle smaller than my baking sheet (that's the best way I can describe it). However you form it is fine because guess what? Mine wouldn't cut into bars, so it was really more like brickle.
- After you've poured your toffee, place your chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and reserve 1 ounce (one Baker's square)
- Heat the chocolate in the microwave in 20 second intervals and stir between times.
- Once most of the chocolate is melted, and there are still a few lumps that haven't melted, take it out and whisk it quickly, and the lumpy chocolate will dissolve. At this point, add your ounce of reserved chocolate and whisk that in vigorously. You have just tempered chocolate. Well done. It should look smooth and shiny like this:
- pour your chocolate over your toffee. My toffee had pretty much hardened, which is fine, but when I cut into it the next day, the chocolate separated from the toffee, so I wonder if pouring the chocolate over the toffee while it's still a little warm would help? Or, just leave off the chocolate.
- I added this little touch after the chocolate was poured on: sea salt- because why not?
- let this harden (stick it in the fridge for 10 mins or so) and then leave at room temp and cut up as needed...because let's face it: toffee is a need.
- my review: 5 stars, for sure. Here's my only thought: the next day, my chocolate turned a little white (can anyone explain that? I haven't researched it yet. Maybe it was letting it harden in the fridge?) so next time I think I will just make the toffee and omit the chocolate, or let it harden at room temp.
- also, I happened to have everything (minus the almonds) on hand so it was relatively inexpensive, but heck, if you don't have nuts, it's not the end of the world, and you could always use whatever nut you have on hand.
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