Coffee Toffee - English Toffee Recipe - My Kitchen Love (2024)

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This English Toffee Recipe gets a grownup spin with a touch of coffee and hazelnuts. It’s great for holiday gifting or simply have for entertaining when you need something sweet.

Coffee Toffee - English Toffee Recipe - My Kitchen Love (1)

The 3rdCookbook Club meeting reviewed Deb Perelman’s “The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook” and I made the Coffee Toffee, an English Toffee recipe, from the cookbook. We had 12 members present which is a really great representation of recipes from the book as it resulted in 12 different dishes being sampled. As usual, our club was ruthless in its review – which I love.

I was really keen to hear what everyone thought about the book overall as I have fairly mixed emotions about it. It’s witty and funny in its writing, but sometimes the recipes can fall flat or are lacklustre. Our group was split on a final call ofbetween 5 or 6 out of 10 overall. This overall rating means we’re happy we tried and would seek a recipe or 2 from SmittenKitchen.com in the future, but are not running out to purchase the cookbook.

Coffee Toffee - English Toffee Recipe - My Kitchen Love (2)

On the whole, the cookbook contains a few standout dishes, like the cookbook club’s favourite Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette and my personal favourite Mustard Milanese with an Arugula Fennel Salad (a quicker and easier Chicken and Arugula Salad can be found here). A number of members felt that it is was difficult to really get into the cookbook, that there wasn’t a recipe screaming from the pages for them to make.

This is pretty telling since we have a couple of members who will make upwards of 5 recipes from the book before our meetings. I find that I turn to this cookbook when I have a specific ingredient that I want to use in a quick and easy way, as well as for some dependable freezer meals. Even this English Toffee recipe could be parked in the freezer and pullout when you need a dessert in a pinch.

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A few comments from members included that the recipes were easy, but long and that there were assumptions that the reader should already know how to do something (as if there was a missing link in a recipe). I find this last comment surprisingas the cookbook starts by explaining how it’s recipes from ahome cook who had to learn it all (in a tiny kitchen).

Our club has a variety of cooking experience (none to cooks all the freaking time like me) and Smitten Kitchen should have been perfect for everyone – a cookbook that contains recipe after recipe that “exceeds expectations”. Instead we didn’t dislike any of the recipes, but not very many of them grabbed our hearts and made us want to make them again, besides this dream English Toffee recipe that will be made for countless holidays to come.

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I found that some tools were missing from the cookbook, such as the candy thermometer that was required for the Coffee Toffee. To be honest, mine was broken so I mostly guessed on the temperature by the colour of the toffee as I was cooking it which is only something I’d suggest doingif you’re comfortable cooking sugars and caramels.

Like most, this English toffee recipe needs to get extremely hot (300° F) so that the toffee sets hard. It it doesn’t reach that temperature you’ll end up with a chewy caramel instead or worse, a caramel that’s so runny you can’t even cut it (totally happened to me before). The Coffee Toffee is solid option for a grown-up’s version of toffee, laced with strong espresso and topped with a thin layer of chocolate … just enough to satisfy the chocolate cravings we all have (we do, right?).

Coffee Toffee

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Chilling time

10 mins

Total Time

35 mins

Chewy and chocolatey toffee treat with hints of espresso. An English Toffee recipe all grown up!

Course:Dessert

Cuisine:english

Keyword:best english toffee, best toffee recipe in the world, easy toffee recipe, english toffee recipe, toffee recipe

Servings: 15 servings

Calories: 259 kcal

Author: Samantha

Ingredients

  • 1cupunsalted butter
  • 1/2cupbrown sugar, levelled, but not packed
  • 1/2cupgranulated sugar
  • 1 1/2tspmolasses
  • 1/4heaping tspflaky sea salt (or 1/4 tsp table salt)
  • 1 1/2tspinstant espresso powder (decaf espresso works too)
  • 1cupsemisweet chocolate chips (or 6 oz./170 grams semisweet chocolate, chopped)
  • 1/2cupchopped toasted hazelnuts

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  1. Line a small baking sheet with non-stick paper.

  2. In a medium heavy sauce pan (with a candy thermometer attached), melt butter, brown and white sugar, molasses, salt, and espresso together over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally with a whisk until the temperature reaches 250°F. Then whisking constantly, until mixture reaches 300°F.

  3. Carefully pour mixture onto baking sheet and spread evenly with a spatula. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over the toffee and let sit for about a minute until softening, then spread chocolate evenly over the candy base. Sprinkle hazelnuts over chocolate.

  4. Place in fridge (or freezer) till toffee is set, about 15-20 minutes.

  5. Break toffee into pieces and store in an airtight container.

Nutrition Facts

Coffee Toffee

Amount Per Serving

Calories 259Calories from Fat 171

% Daily Value*

Fat 19g29%

Saturated Fat 11g69%

Cholesterol 33mg11%

Sodium 12mg1%

Potassium 122mg3%

Carbohydrates 21g7%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 19g21%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 384IU8%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 23mg2%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Enjoy! xo

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Coffee Toffee - English Toffee Recipe - My Kitchen Love (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between toffee and English toffee? ›

Americanized toffee may include nuts, while a completely traditional British toffee will not. On the other hand, English toffee uses pure cane sugar, brown sugar, or molasses as its sweet base and always involves chocolate.

Why did my toffee turned out chewy? ›

Low and slow. Simmering the syrup for English toffee to the requisite 300°F temperature can (and should) be a slow process — up to 20 minutes or so. Don't hurry this gradual transformation; syrup that doesn't reach 300°F, or close to it, will make candy with timid flavor and chewy (not crunchy) texture.

What is English toffee coffee? ›

COMBINE creamer, coffee and chocolate syrup in warm mug. TOP with whipped cream. Drizzle with caramel and chocolate syrups. Sprinkle with toffee bits.

Why do you not stir toffee? ›

Constant stirring can cause the toffee to crystallize and separate.

Why does the butter separate when making English toffee? ›

If the butterfat separates out then usually this is due to the mixture being either heated or cooled too quickly, which "shocks" the mixture and causes the fat to separate out. It can also be caused by the mixture being heated unevenly (if the pan has a thin base and has hot spots).

What happens if you cook toffee too long? ›

Toffee Making Tips + Troubleshooting

Your toffee is better off overcooked than undercooked! Undercooked toffee won't be anything more than a caramel sauce. But overcooked toffee will be just slightly crunchier (almost unrecognizably). So, always err on the side of over-cooking!

Why do you add baking soda to toffee? ›

Brittles and toffees accumulate small amounts of acid from the browning reactions that occur during cooking. This is one reason why the baking soda is added at the end of cooking. The soda reacts with the acid to make bubbles, and the syrup foams.

How do I know when my toffee is ready? ›

For cooking: cook the toffee until it turns nutty brown. Don't stop cooking it until it's brown. Stop cooking it immediately as soon as it's brown.

What is toffee called in America? ›

The English toffee eaten with regularity in America is also called buttercrunch. What's the difference? Primarily, the difference rests in the ingredients. Toffee in Britain is made with brown sugar, whereas buttercrunch is made with white granulated sugar.

What is coffee toffee made of? ›

In a medium heavy sauce pan (with a candy thermometer attached), melt butter, brown and white sugar, molasses, salt, and espresso together over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally with a whisk until the temperature reaches 250°F. Then whisking constantly, until mixture reaches 300°F.

What is English toffee called in England? ›

Although named English toffee, it bears little resemblance to the wide range of confectionery known as toffee currently available in the United Kingdom. However, one can still find this product in the UK under the name "butter crunch". Conversely, in Italy they are known as "mou candies".

What kind of pan is best for making toffee? ›

You need a very sturdy pan which is KEY to even heat distribution. Thinner, cheaper pans can scorch the cooking candy and/or cook it unevenly. Here are some great choices: Anolon Nouvelle Copper and Cooks Standard. I own a couple pricier copper pots because of the amount of candy I make.

Why is there vinegar in toffee? ›

Made with just sugar and a little water, toffee is easy to make and is an easy introduction to the world of confectionary. This recipe includes a dash of vinegar which will help keep the colour of the toffee clear and bright and banish any cloudiness.

Why add water when making toffee? ›

Adding water to sugar before caramelizing it helps it melt at a more even rate, and helps reduce the risk of crystalization. You only need to add enough water to turn the sugar into a slurry, and it all boils off as you heat the syrup.

Is English toffee same as butterscotch? ›

Toffee vs Butterscotch

While butterscotch is cooked to a soft-crack stage, toffee is produced by allowing that same butter and brown sugar mixture to reach the hard-crack stage. Butterscotch tends to be chewy and pliable; toffee is brittle and more breakable.

Is English toffee like butterscotch? ›

Yes, butterscotch and toffee are made up of the exact same ingredients: Butter and sugar. However, butter toffee contains the addition of cream (Yes, this is confusing). The only remarkable difference between butterscotch and toffee is their texture and sugar content.

Why is it called English toffee? ›

The name “English toffee” comes from the crunchy “toff” sound the candy makes when you bite into it. As the candy became popular, shops began selling it under the name “English toffee” or sometimes just “toffee.”

Is English toffee hard or soft? ›

Toffee is a hard candy made by cooking a sugar syrup with butter to the hard crack stage, 300–310°F (149–154°C), and then pouring it out to cool. 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 .

References

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