Testing this buttercrunch toffee recipe was a nightmare – for our waistlines! It is easier than it looks (so you won’t be expending many calories) and then it beckons to be eaten. The crunchy texture of the center, with its extra-deep toffee flavor based on brown sugar, combined with the dark chocolate and sliced toasted-almond topping makes for one irresistible treat. Even if you have never made candy, give this one a try. Just read the directions carefully and all the way through before beginning. Note that we use salted butter for this recipe. It gives the buttercrunch a great counterpoint to the other flavors. A candy thermometer is helpful with this recipe (see Tips for making without a thermometer).
Almond Buttercrunch Toffee
Author: Bakepedia
Makes: Makes 1 ¾ pounds
Ingredients
- ½ pound (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 10 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, such as Callebaut or Guittard 61%
- 2 cups toasted blanched sliced almonds, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and smooth out any wrinkles. Use extra butter (or even just the butter wrappers) to coat the foil well.
- Place butter and sugar in a very heavy bottomed sauté pan. (We like to use a 10-inch cast-iron.) Begin melting butter over medium heat, stirring butter and sugar together very gently at this stage to encourage them to combine, but do not stir vigorously.
- Once the butter and sugar are combined and melted, attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and boil over medium-high heat. Occasionally draw a wooden spoon through the mixture to make sure it is heating evenly. When the mixture is approaching 250° F, combine the baking soda and vanilla in a small bowl and keep near the stove. Bring toffee to 305° F (hard crack stage). Immediately slide over to a cold burner, add soda/vanilla and quickly stir them in with a wooden spoon. Immediately pour mixture out onto prepared pan. Most, if not all, will come out of the pan. Do not scrape the pan bottom. The toffee should pool into a large oval shape. Use an offset spatula if necessary to create an even layer, about ¼-inch thick. Don’t worry about uneven edges. Place pan on rack to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate in microwave or top of double boiler. Have nuts ready to use in a bowl on your work surface. Loosen the toffee from the foil in one big piece and then just lay it back down (you are just un-attaching it from the foil). Pour half of the chocolate on top of the toffee and spread in an even layer with an offset spatula. Immediately sprinkle half of the almonds evenly over the wet chocolate, patting gently with your fingertips to help them adhere. Refrigerate until completely set. Flip toffee over on foil and repeat with chocolate and nuts on second side of toffee. Chill again. Once it is completely chilled you may break it up into slabs. Refrigerate in an airtight container until serving time, up to 1 week.
Bakepedia Tips
- Candy can be fickle on a humid day, so we recommend making this toffee recipe when it is dry outside, and preferably on the cooler side. That said, one of our best batches was made during a summer heat-wave with no air conditioning. We just aimed an oscillating fan at our work station and it worked like a charm.
- Feel free to substitute the same amount of milk chocolate for semisweet and even pecans for almonds.
- If you are using a thermometer, which we suggest, unclip it and draw it through the mixture. All of the mixture must come to 305° F. Sometimes you get an artificially high reading in one part of the pan because of hot spots and if your toffee is not up to temperature, it will not set properly.
- If you do not have a thermometer, fill a clear glass with cold water and have near the stove. Drip a tiny bit of toffee into the water and it will harden instantly. Pick it up and feel it. It should be brittle and crack neatly in half when you break it.
- Note that you could temper the chocolate for a more refined candy, in which case it does not need to be refrigerated.
it looks yummy!
I have problems with the chocolate separating from the toffee after cooled and during cutting or breaking in pieces. Any suggestions?
When does it separate? When you try to cut it? Is your buttercrunch oily on top? I have seen this on occasion with other recipes and that could be an issue. You can literally pat it “dry” before spreading with chocolate.
Ugg. Made my toffee and as I went to pour it on the cookie sheet the butter separated from the sugar! What did I do wrong? I have made toffee before and never had this result. I followed your instructions perfectly. Could it be a problem with the ingredients?
well, I am not sure. Different butters have different butterfat content. What did you use? Are you confident in your sugar measuring techniques? Still, I am betting on process…I have made it NOT in the 10-inch pan and NOT sitting gently and smoothly and have had issues…any of this ring a bell? Any which way, rest assured that candy making can be particular and you are in good company. Did you have a thermometer that you know to be accurate? (Calibrated?)
Hi. I did all the above as you asked. I found a site that gave suggestions (in fact it was a link on your site!)– apparently it’s not uncommon for the butter to separate. The problem may have occurred from my heating process. Either way, I made another batch and it turned out perfectly! I guess perseverance is the key 🙂
Good for you for trying again and so glad you had a positive result! Enjoy – and just try not to eat it all yourself. That’s my problem with this recipe:)
I wonder if the butter has palm oil in it. Apparently some of the larger companies are infusing palm oil in the butter which does affect the melting properties.