Like grandma used to make:
- Place all the ingredients into a large heavy-based pan.
- Heat gently, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. (Tap the botton of the pan with a wooden spoon - if there is still sugar there you can feel the crunch)
- Boil rapidly until it reaches soft crack stage, or 143°C. (Don't allow sugar to crystallise on the side of the pan - if it does redissolve with a little water on a brush).
- Pour quickly onto a greased tin and allow to cool.
The best time to cajole grandma into making toffee was in September. All that remained was to go into the garden, pick some Cox's apples, and persuade my grandfather to chop some sticks. Then we were in for the best treat of all - wonderful juicy toffee apples! Mmmm, I can practically smell them!
To make toffee apples, skewer the apples onto sticks, dip into the pan of toffee while rotating so that they are covered, then stand on a greased tin until cold.
After discussion with Kujan it has become apparent that English toffee apples have brittle toffee while American caramel apples are softer - bet they're both equally yummy tho! :)