Those who still found the Soviet era still consider toffee the symbol, the “taste" of their childhood. Actually, this is not particularly surprising: then there was not a lot of candy variety, and from the list of the entire range in the public domain there were not so many items. That is why some people willingly make toffee at home - they are driven by nostalgia. Of course, such sweets are not difficult to buy now, however, according to the people, this is “not that”.
But people born after the collapse of the monster, uniting one sixth of the entire land, also often "indulge" in this occupation. Moreover, they have completely different motives. Most often, parents culminate in this way, carefully reading the composition of modern sweets. Not everyone agrees to feed their child an almost complete set of the periodic table, together with the achievements of organic chemistry. Homemade sweets, they say, are much safer for the health of an unformed organism.
The most uncomplicated option
Despite the fact that these sweets are almost the simplest in the recipe and preparation, the recipe for butterscotch (at home they are prepared by many) varies from execution to execution. And each owner of his own believes that his method of preparation is the most correct and gives the result precisely with that unique taste.
Consider the fastest and easiest recipe.
150 g of condensed milk will go to 50 g of butter, a tablespoon of flour, 100 g of milk (necessarily dry!) And 50 - water.
The butter is slowly melted, flour is added to it with stirring, and all together is fried until a pleasant golden color. After condensed milk is introduced, everything is mixed and cooked (timed for 10 minutes, during which we continue mixing).
Milk is diluted with prepared water and poured into the mixture. Do not stop stirring! When future sweets begin to thicken (this will take about thirty minutes), they are transferred according to molds (inserts from candy boxes will do) or with a layer on a flat surface. The top will need to be leveled. So that later toffee at home was easier to cut (break), you can draw fault lines. It remains to wait until they cool.
English version of the Soviet delicacy
Probably, nobody would have believed in the forgotten “scoop” if they had told him that Europe also loves such sweets. However, this is a fact! The same proud and stiff English willingly cook toffee at home, although they have their own opinions about what should be included in their composition. For the British variety of these sweets you will need: 230 g of good butter (and look for an unsalted version, otherwise spoil the whole taste); 250 g of sugar (you can take regular, but the British advise granulated); corn syrup - light, just a teaspoon, but take the trouble to find it; and about 90 g of almonds - here it’s for your taste - roasted or not, walnut is more suitable for you.
How to become like the English
If you follow the British recipe, cooking toffee at home begins with a mixture of sugar, syrup, salt and oil. This mixture is put on fire - not too strong, but not barely smoldering. The preparation will be cooked for about five minutes (four if you carefully follow the recommendations of the inhabitants of foggy Albion). Shredded nuts are introduced into the thickened composition, after which everything is cooked for another seven minutes (or until it turns brownish). The resulting mass is poured onto the oiled baking sheet and is evenly distributed on the surface with a knife. After solidification, it breaks into pieces of the desired size.
And the Scots love them too!
The nearest neighbors of the English are also happy to cook toffee at home. And they also consider their recipe the most correct. If you want to join the mysterious Scotland - use their tips. The nuances are as follows: sugar needs 390 g, and brown, oil - 120 grams, 2 large tablespoons of water and vinegar, very little salt and 170 g of molasses. To get Scottish toffee sweets at home, all the components are mixed and boiled until sugar is completely dissolved. Most of those who used this recipe agree that boiling should not be slow, but strong - these are the features of brown sugar. What stuck to the walls must be removed. If this is not done, you will have to take more sugar. Unlike other recipes, the mass does not pour out in layers with subsequent leveling, but gently drips on parchment or foil to make sweets of various shapes (but mostly drop-like).
For those who avoid sugar
No wonder it is called white death. At a minimum, this is true for teeth. In condensed milk (if you bother to read its composition) sugar is also included. So if you want to avoid this undesirable ingredient, you have to use a recipe that suggests how to make toffee without sugar. Here it is replaced by honey, which, doctors say, is much healthier.
So, a glass of sour cream, a glass of honey and a little butter will come in handy - just to grease a baking sheet or other form where sweets will be baked. Sour cream should not be cold, so it will have to be removed from the refrigerator in advance. All components except oil are mixed. If honey is not very fresh and sugared - it is "melted" in a water bath. All this boils over low heat with constant stirring. You need to cook for 20-25 minutes. It is necessary to interfere slowly and constantly, so that no lumps appear. When future toffee will reach for a spoon, the mixture is poured into the final containers, oiled. The finished dish is cut according to your preference.
What you did not know about home toffee
- How to determine readiness: drop a drop in a cup of cold water. "Curled up" - it's time to merge.
- Variety of taste can be added to the mixture of seeds, any nuts, dried fruits (dried apricots and prunes are especially good).
- Sweets can be stored for a very long time if kept in the refrigerator in parchment, soaked in oil.
Try to combine nostalgia and natural products!