I'll never forget accidentally putting molasses on my pancakes as a kid. I was a guest in someone's home. I remember thinking it was odd how thick their syrup was. When I bit into it, I realized my error. Being far too polite to waste food, and far too shy to admit that I didn't like it, I choked it down and made sure I had my pancake toppings straight before I poured anything on the next pancake.
Anyway, as time has passed, I've tried Molasses on a number of occasions and in a number of ways. I have a recipe for Treacle Scones, which is one that makes molasses taste really good! This Toffee though, it allows a stronger Molasses flavor through, and believe it or not, I actually really like it in this form. It's not overly sweet, but the added sugar helps soften the harshness of the molasses.
So, this is a British recipe, Treacle Toffee or Bonfire Toffee as it is also know is often eaten on Bonfire Night / Guy Fawkes Day, which happens to be today. In Britain this is made with Black Treacle. Treacle isn't easily found here in the U.S., so you have to substitute Molasses unless you're lucky enough to live close to a British Grocer. If I understand this correctly, it's actually not a perfect substitute, but it's as close as you're going to get. Because, while technically Molasses is considered a Treacle by definition, it is made slightly differently than other Treacle's. Molasses is made from what's drained off of sugar during the refining process, whereas British Treacle is made from the syrup obtained from the sugar.
Molasses most closely resembles Black Treacle. I chose to use Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses, mainly because I've never actually tried Blackstrap Molasses, just regular Molasses and Sorghum Molasses. You can use whatever you have.
I found the whole Treacle / Molasses thing very confusing at first, and am hoping I have it all straightened out now. Regardless though, this Toffee is really good and that's ultimately all that really matters, right?
I got the recipe here: Tartan Tastes in Texas
Treacle Toffee
2/3 Cup Brown Sugar
8 Tbsp (1 stick) Butter
1/2 Cup Treacle or Molasses
2 Tbsp Water
1 tsp White Vinegar
Instructions:
- Grease a 9 inch round cake pan (If you want this to be really easy use one you can drop.)
- In a large pot, add the Butter, Brown Sugar, Treacle, and Water.
- Heat and stir until the Butter has melted and everything is blended together nicely.
- When bubbles begin to appear add the Vinegar.
- Keep the mixture at a rolling boil for 10 minutes, watching that it doesn't boil over, it will swell and create lots of bubbles. If you have a sugar thermometer, heat to 270 degree's F. If you don't have one you can carefully remove a dot with a spoon and cool it, if it hardens you're ready, if it doesn't, keep boiling. You should notice it getting visibly thicker as it boils.
- When it's ready, carefully pour the hot mixture into your greased pan, allow to cool completely.
- When it's cool you can cover your cake pan and smack it on the counter to break the toffee into bite sized pieces. Or, if like me, you only have glass cake pans you can pop the toffee out and stick it into a plastic baggie, seal it, and then drop that onto your counter a couple of times. The glass pan probably could have taken the hit, but I wasn't ready to risk it.
Notes for Success:
The person who writes the blog I got this recipe from had hers not set up when she first tried it, she was told to re-boil it and it worked like a charm. So, if it fails, don't be afraid to pour it back into the pan and give it another boil.