Pages

Tuesday 2 November 2010

spicy coffee toffee

spicy coffee toffee
Sweets, candies, lollies. Whatever you call them, these sugary treats are much loved by many all over the world. I think the first one I ever made might've been toffee, when I discovered a recipe in a children's encyclopedia as a kid. Last night I decided to revisit it and make a more adult version, with a bit of spice and a bit of coffee...

To be honest, I threw the ingredients together without really measuring, so the following are just estimates. But I find toffee recipes quite forgiving! Just remember to be alert and quick when assessing and handling the mixture!

Mmmmmm, toffee crumbs.

1 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup salted butter
1 tablespoon vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1 tablespoon instant coffee
3 tablespoons water
hot spice of your choice, to taste (e.g. chilli powder, hot paprika, cayenne)
pinch of salt

- Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan, and stir over low heat till dissolved.
- Increase to medium heat and let it boil without stirring.
- When the mixture starts to look thick and rich, test by dropping a little of the mixture into a glass of cold water. If it turns into brittle strings, then it's ready to go.
- Pour into a buttered pan. When it sets, cut into bite-sized pieces.
- If you like, sprinkle and dust with a little more spice!

I don't drink a lot of coffee, because, unfortunately, it doesn't always agree with me. But in little doses, like a few pieces of this crunchy toffee, it feeds me the flavour in a quantity that doesn't disturb my constitution, hooray. The spice I chose to use for this is hot smoked paprika, which I recently procured (and I can assure you I will be telling you more about it in future posts). It lent a nice touch of smoky heat to the toffee candy. Because I didn't use very fine sugar for this, not all of it dissolved entirely - but it still turned out to my satisfaction. A friend likened the taste to the crispy caramel topping of crème brûlée, while Simon sampled one and asked, "do you have any more?" I'm happy with that!

you can wrap these spicy coffee toffees up to give as gifts... or eat them all yourself!

21 comments:

  1. The spice and coffee are definitely "adult" aspects to the toffee.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I LOVE pepper heat in chocolate/desserts. It's so delicious. These look gorgeous! You could send them all to me. I'd be happy to have them gifted ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh wow these sound wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  4. tigerfish - indeed!

    Melissa and Dimah - thank you! It's all gone now. :p

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love toffee! These look great!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi,

    The toffees look amazing...Bookmarked...:)

    Dr.Sameena@

    http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oooh, looks great! I particularly like the inclusion of the smokey paprika.. mhmm.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks Agnes! The spice definitely adds another dimension to it. :D

    ReplyDelete
  9. Please please please, give us your hot smoked paprika recipe... :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. There will be more hot smoked paprika recipes coming up soon! :D

    ReplyDelete
  11. These look lovely - I would love to send them as gifts! Do you have any idea how long they keep? (I would make a batch and test but I just don't have that kind of willpower...)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for your interest! I finished my toffee in only a few days and I'm no expert on storing candy, but I found this link which is quite helpful:

    http://www.chocolate-candy-mall.com/storing-toffee-candy.html

    Good luck! :D

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm late to the party on this post, but YUM the toffee sounds delicious. One batch for gifting, one batch for the cook, one more batch for the house with a second spice... I can see it now!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks SeattleDee, I love your vision! :D

    ReplyDelete
  15. I was just flipping through some of your recipes and I HAD to let you know that this one looks AMAZING!! I'm not even a coffee fan, but something about coffee in toffee sends shivers down my spine!! Way to go!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks Food Hound! I do remember being quite pleased with this one, even though it was a little rough around the edges. :D

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sounds delicious, I love toffee !

    ReplyDelete
  18. As someone with an insatiable sweet tooth, I'm always on the lookout for new dessert recipes to try out. I think this one will definitely be on my baking list for the weekend.
    frugalishness

    ReplyDelete
  19. "Wow, this blog is incredibly informative and well-researched. Thank you for sharing such valuable insights!"
    promo code blackout bingo

    ReplyDelete
  20. "This blog on personal development has become my daily motivation. Your articles inspire me to strive for personal growth and self-improvement."
    Uline Free Gifts

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails