Toffee has to be cooked to 300 degrees or to the hard crack, or 12 minutes boil to. If you use a candy thermometer test it for accuracy. A firmer ball thats harder to shape will be at hard crack stage. The crackers are what give the toffee its light and crispy texture. Once the candy is boiling, stir occasionally, slowly and evenly, until the candy has reached 290f to 300f, or hard crack on a candy thermometer. Hard crack is used for candies like english toffees and some nut brittles. The problem with this recipe is she fails to mention caramel needs to be heated to 300 degrees f to reach hard crack toffee stage. Immediately sprinkle with the semisweet chocolate chips and place the pan in the microwave so it can sit undisturbed for. While butterscotch is cooked to a softcrack stage, toffee is produced by allowing that same butter and brown sugar mixture to. It was toffee and what i did was i didnt wait till i got a hard it didnt reach the temperature i wanted to cuz a candy thermometer broke so i pulled it off guessing and guessed wrong. Larger amounts of butter or cream can make chewier, softer toffees that are like caramels, while toffee cooked to a higher temperature becomes brittle but is still chewy to eat. Boil, without stirring, about 1015 minutes or until a. Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses creating inverted sugar along with butter, and occasionally flour.
Learn more about the hard crack stage in the candy making process. The hardcrack stage is the highest temperature you are likely to see. If your syrup has reached the hardcrack stage, it will form brittle strands in the water and crack as you bend it. This stage makes a syrup, not a candy fudge, fondant, creams, penuche, maple, etc. Stir sugar, butter, water and vinegar in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
With a clean spoon, when the syrup dropped into ice water it separates into. Examples of caramel recipes that finish heating below 170 c. For example, if heated to the soft crack stage the temperature range just below hard crack, the candy would be more like a butterscotch than a brittle, crunchy toffee. If the reading is higher or lower, calculate the difference when testing the. The higher the temperature of the cooked sugar, the less water there is in the sugar. When you cook sugar with other ingredients together to make candy, the heat temperature rises. Hard candy recipes variously call for syrups of sucrose, glucose, or fructose. A small amount of syrup is dropped into chilled water, it will separate into threads that will bend when picked up. Between these temperatures the sugar will turn dark golden but will turn black at 350 f. Chocolate toffee christmas crack recipe called by its other name, christmas crack candy, is an irresistible edible gift for the holidays. Fudge is made using sugar, butter, and milk or cream. Used for pralines, brittles, caramelcoated molds, and nougatine. Thats the hardball stage, and its what you want for homemade marshmallows or a really chewy toffee.
At hard crack toffee shop, we craft the most deliciously addicting homemade english toffee for a variety of occasions. The toffee can be stored in an airtight container, to prevent the toffee from softening at room temperature, or in the refrigerator, for about two weeks. In some parts of the world, this is also considered a toffee, but its not what comes to mind when i hear the word. Syrup dropped into ice water separates into hard, brittle threads that break when bent. This chocolate toffee christmas crack recipe makes the best sweet addicting present the holidays give us an excuse to spoil our friends, stir up our creative mojo, and. Hard crack, 295310 degrees f, 146155 degrees c, syrup will form threads that are. Allow to come to a boil, and cook until the mixture becomes a dark amber color, and the temperature has reached 285 degrees f 7 degrees c. In a large heavy saucepan, melt the remaining butter. What is the difference between toffee, caramel, and. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage.
Cook over medium heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Hardcrack stage is a cooking term meaning that a sugar syrup being. Candy making includes the preparation of many various candies, such as hard candies, jelly beans, gumdrops, taffy, liquorice, cotton candy, chocolates and chocolate truffles, dragees, fudge, caramel candy and toffee. When a small amount of sugar syrup is dropped into very cold water. Some recipes cook the sugar at a lower temperature in order to make softer toffee. It can have inclusions or not, and it can be made either very dense and hard or can be lightened by adding baking soda when the candy is almost done cooking. On a candy thermometer, hard crack stage is defined as between 300310 degrees f 148. Toffee is butterscotch or caramel that has been brought to what is known as the hard crack stage in candy making. Or, theyll tell you to cook it to a certain stage, for instance, soft ball or a hard crack stage. As its temperature rises, sugar goes through several stages, from thread to hard crack. Soft crack hard crack light caramel dark caramel bind agent for fruit pastes a spoonful of sugar drizzled over a plate forms a fine, thin thread. The highest temperature that the sugar syrup reaches tells you what the syrup will be like when it cools. It is a test of how hot a sugar syrup is, and of how much water is left in it. How to tell the temperature without a candy thermometer.
Chocolate toffee christmas crack recipe video a spicy. After a syrup boiled to this temperature cools, it is called hard candy, since it becomes stiff and brittle as it approaches room temperature. Drop a little of the molten syrup in cold water and it will form hard, brittle threads that break when bent. Taken to this temperature, caramel can be dripped from a spoon in thin strands and will become hard and glasslike when cooled, so you can make spuncaramel cages for. The toffee continues to change color and becomes darker as the temperature rises. Hardcrack stage is a cooking term meaning that a sugar syrup being heated has reached 149 154 c 300 310 f. The hardcrack stage is the highest temperature you are likely to see specified in a candy recipe. At this point of heating, the sugar concentration in the syrup is 99%. Its hard to tell from your question what the difference between soft and chewy caramel is, but you should be able to refer to the standard candy making temperature guidelines. Drop a spoonful of hot syrup into cold water, then remove the candy from the water and attempt to bend it. A spoonful of sugar drizzled over a plate forms a fine, thin thread. Drop a little of the molten syrup in cold water and it will form hard, brittle threads. The basic toffee recipe involves heating the mixture to either the soft crack stage a temperature of 2143c270290f or hard crack stage a temperature of 149154c300310f. The hardcrack stage is the highest temperature you are likely to see specified in.
No thermometer needed easy toffee the domestic rebel. Whenever making caramel, marshmallows, honeycomb or just about any other sugar candy youll often find that recipe either tells you to boil a sugar syrup to a certain temperature. For every 300 metres 1,000 feet that you are above sea level, subtract 1 degree c 2 degrees f from the temperatures given in your candy recipe. It is highly recommended that you use a candy thermometer to reach this stage, since you can easily miss it by a few degrees and produce candy in soft crack stage, or you may caramelize or burn your sugar. Hard crack stage is the hottest stage in candy making before you begin making caramels, which are heated to caramel stages. Some candies require you to cook the sugar to an even higher temperature. As youve made this toffee before, its not likely that temperature is the problem youre. As soon as the toffee reaches the proper temperature, pour it out onto the.
In hard candy making, it is important to cook all the water out of the sugarcorn syrupwater mixture. The hard crack stage is used for lollipops, spun sugar and hard toffees. Line a pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Thats the firmball stage, which is what you want for caramels and other softbutchewy candies. Toffee begins as a base of butter and brown sugar that is gradually cooked to the hardcrack sugar stage between 295 and 309 degrees fahrenheit. As the temperature of the sugar increases, the sugar syrup will begin to go browner in. Toffee, nut brittles, and lollipops are all cooked to the hardcrack stage.
Who would have thought to add saltine crackers to toffee, but its brilliant. Hardcrack stage 149 154 c cooking tips high altitude. Cooking temperature is what determines how soft or how hard your toffee. If toffee cooks to too high a temperature and the toffee is dark in color, unfortunately, there is no way to save this batch of toffee. I think its important to note that the sugar should not taste burnt when it. C 2 degrees f from the temperatures given in your candy recipe. In order to achieve a brittle hard crack homemade toffee, youll want to use a candy thermometer to make sure the mixture reaches between 290300 degrees fahrenheit. Do not go above 300 or it will overcook the toffee and give it a burnt taste.
Hard crack stage is 300 f to 310 f 150 c to 155 c cold water test hard crack. Sometimes this is bad, such as with hard candy or toffee. After a syrup boiled to this temperature cools, it is called hard candy, since it. Once the candy has reached 290f300f, remove from heat and gently stir in the vanilla extract.
Remove lid, and then clamp a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, making sure it does not touch the bottom of the pan. All you need to make this christmas crack is butter, brown sugar, saltine crackers, and chocolate thats it. The names themselves are obviously descriptive of the way the sugar syrup behaves after its been heated to the requisite temperature. If you dont allow the sugar to reach this temperature before cooling, the texture will be different. Giftmaking season is the absolute best whos with me. If you somehow manage to get your sugar saturated without it crystallizing, hard crack is the temperature stage around 300 farehnheit at which you add the butter that makes it toffee. Toffee is sometimes mixed with nuts or raisins and topped with chocolate. Where do the names for the confectionery stages of sugar come from. The syrup separates into threads that are hard and brittle. Candy making or candymaking is the preparation and cookery of candies and sugar confections. Candy sugar syrup temperature chart craftybaking formerly.
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