Honestly though. Don't say I didn't warn you. This is hard to stop eating.
I have a few tips for you on toffee making. And although this is more of an English style hard toffee, it is using a raw caster sugar or white sugar, thus making it more American...it's a long story and one day we'll have a chat about all that too.
The dark roasted nuts bring the sweetness down a bit as does the salt, making it a well balanced treat. It is wonderful when really cold as it snaps and if I hadn't been using this for something else entirely, I may have drizzled it in dark or white chocolate. Both of which would have been completely amazing. SO...up to you which way you go. Don't over cook or it will split and the lovely butter becomes oily rather than remaining in the toffee where it belongs.
I suggest a good thermometer as this can be helpful, otherwise be really confident with the hard crack stage. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can use the cold water test in a pinch: Drop a spoonful of hot syrup into cold water, then remove it from the water and attempt to bend it. If your syrup has reached the hard-crack stage, it will form brittle strands in the water and crack as you bend it.
Work quickly once you are at hard crack stage. Get it away from the heat and out of the pan as quickly as you can. It will keep cooking with its own heat, so you run the risk of it splitting at this point too. Get it onto that silpat mat ASAP. It will set very fast, so make sure your nuts and salt are right there. Load it up, and then just wait until it sets hard. It will be cold after around 30 minutes. It should break and snap easily. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for best freshness.
I hope you love it. This would make the perfect gift for that hard to buy for friend. Wrap it in loads of cellophane with a toffee hammer (can you even get those anymore?) and you will be the toast of the party!
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Need
- Generous Handfuls raw macadamias BUY
- Generous Handfuls Brazil Nuts
- 100 Grams butter cubed BUY
- 100 Grams raw caster sugar BUY
- 2 Teaspoons water
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla bean paste BUY
- pink salt flakes to finish BUY
Do
- 1
Place the nuts onto a lined tray and into a cold oven set to 190°C and roast for 14 minutes. You want a dark roast without burning. Cool and roughly chop.
- 2
Place butter, sugar, water and vanilla into heavy-based saucepan and bring to a simmer on a medium heat (induction 6). Stir occasionally and continue to cook until it reaches hard crack stage (150°C/305ºF on candy thermometer).
- 3
Pour over onto a silpat mat, working quickly to spread. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and salt. Allow to cool completely before breaking into pieces. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. This will make it all the more crunchy.
