English Toffee
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When I’m stressed or nervous, I like to bake. And finding out I’m probably going to have to get my tonsils removed has made me both stressed and nervous. And so, what better time than now to try a new recipe, especially a sweet one!
Ingredients
1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla extract
6 oz. (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
about 1/2 cup (60 g) chopped almonds
Preparation
Select a small saucepan. Make sure the saucepan is large enough to contain about double the volume of the butter and sugar. As the mixture cooks, it will bubble and increase in volume – using too small of a pan may result in overflows.
Melt the butter in the saucepan with the sugar and salt plus a little (about 2 teaspoons, 10 mL) water over gentle heat. The extra water will make it easier for the sugar to heat evenly and melt together.
Stir the mixture constantly while heating over medium-high heat. The butter and sugar will bubble and foam as the water boils off. This can take several minutes because butter contains a decent amount of water. The volume of the mixture will increase dramatically at this point. At this point the temperature should be relatively constant at a few degrees above the boiling point of water.
Once the water has boiled off, the mixture will collapse and thicken. The temperature will also start to rise again. The goal is to remove the pan from the heat once the mixture passes 300°F (150°C) and before it reaches 320°F (160°C). Use an instant read thermometer or candy thermometer to keep track of the temperature as you heat and stir because the temperature can change pretty rapidly once the water boils off.
When the mixture reaches 300°F (150°C), remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the mixture onto either a silicone baking mat or a large sheet of parchment paper set on top of a sheet pan. The silicone baking mat is probably easiest to work with since it won’t slide around on the sheet pan. If you’re using parchment paper, one way to keep it in place is to dab the underside of the four corners with a little bit of butter. That will help the paper stay put while the toffee is poured on.
Right after pouring, use a spatula (again silicone works best for working with toffee) to spread the toffee into a rough rectangular shape.
While the toffee is still hot, sprinkle the surface with the chocolate chips. Wait until the bottoms of the chips start to turn shiny and dark brown as they melt from the heat of the toffee, about two minutes. Use your spatula to spread the chocolate. If the chocolate is still mostly solid, wait another minute before attempting to spread again.
Spread the chocolate so that it covers the toffee.
Sprinkle the chocolate surface with chopped almonds. If not using finely chopped almonds, such as the slivered almonds shown in the photos, visually inspect the the surface of the toffee to make sure the almonds are making good contact with the chocolate. Lightly press down on those pieces that are barely touching the surface of the chocolate.
Let the toffee cool for about twenty minutes until the sheet pan returns to room temperature. Slip the pan into the refrigerator to cool down and set for at least thirty minutes.
Remove from the refrigerator and peel the toffee from the baking mat or parchment paper. Working quickly so the chocolate doesn’t melt too much, break the toffee into chunks of the desired size and place into an airtight container. During the breaking of the toffee, you’ll lose quite a few almond pieces, but don’t worry, this is normal.
Because the chocolate isn’t tempered, this English toffee should be stored in the refrigerator to keep the chocolate from melting if the room gets warm.
Notes:
- I omitted the nuts.
- I used milk chocolate chips.
- It took quite a while for the water to boil off and the temperature to then get to 300.
Recipe from Cooking For Engineers.
Brownies
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I love brownies. (Really, who doesn’t?) So I figured what better way to break in my new cookbook than with brownies. Unlike other recipes I’ve tried, this one isn’t a one bowl deal, but it’s still pretty easy. And, since I’m a big fan of the cake-like brownie, I heeded the suggestion and added 1/2 tsp. baking powder to make them less dense and more cakey. They’re quite good–moist and chocolatey, but not the brownie recipe I’ve been searching for.
Ingredients
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus a little for the greasing pan
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan, or line it with aluminum foil and grease the foil.
- Combine the chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over very low heat, stirring occasionally. When the chocolate is just about melted, remove from the heat and continue to stir until the mixture is smooth.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the sugar. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Gently stir in the flour, salt, and vanilla. Pour and scrape into the prepared pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until just barely set in the middle. It’s better to underbake brownies than to overbake them. Cool on a rack before cutting. Store, covered and at room temperature, for no more than a day.
Cookbook Notes: If you line the baking pan with lightly greased aluminum foil, you reduce cleanup time by fifty percent; not bad. These are chewy and dense, dominated by chocolate and nothing else. If you like cakier brownies, add one-half teaspoon baking powder to the flour. I used both of his suggestions.
Recipe from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.
