Foods of England - Treacle Toffee

Treacle Toffee

Sweets and Toffee

Soft crack slab toffee made with black treacle and other sugars. A Bonfire Night treat, but available at other times.

2015

So popular and so universal is the chewing of this immensley hard and awesomely sticky sweet on the 5th of November that I was refused a dentists’ appointment in Chorley for the 6th. “We always keep the day after Bonfire Night free, obviously”, said the dentist. – GH

Original Receipt from Burnley Express – Saturday 05 December 1936

RECIPE FOR TREACLE TOFFEE
1/4 lb, black treadle, 6 oz. brown sugar, 1/4 lb, butter, 1/4 teacupful of water.
Method – Put all into a pan, allow the butter; to melt and the sugar to dissolve well, stirring occasionally, until when a little is dropped into cold water it sets. Pour into- tin. —Celia Rawson

Original Receipt from the BBC Food Programme

Treacle Toffee, also known as Bonfire Toffee

Ingredients

1lb brown sugar
1/4 pint water
4ozs black treacle
4ozs golden syrup
1 tsp white wine vinegar
3ozs unsalted butter

Makes one 8 inch square tin.

First, grease your tin with a little unsalted butter, making sure that the corners are well greased. Place all the ingredients into a large non-reactive saucepan – stainless steel for preference. Heat over a medium flame until the butter has melted, and bring to a rolling boil – as fast as you can. Boil, covered for two minutes. Fill a jug with cold water and have next to you as you finish the toffee. Stirring regularly, maintain a fast boil to reduce the toffee. As it gets thicker, regularly – at minute intervals say – test dribbles of the mixture in your cold water – when it is ready, a dribble will harden and solidify instantly into a hard piece of toffee – remove the pan instantly from the heat, and place the bottom in a large bowl of water to arrest the cooking. Pour the toffee into your prepared tin and cool. Break into pieces before serving – this will keep only in an airtight tin.

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