Homemade © J Sainsbury plc 2016 www.homemadebyyou.co.uk
Photograph: Martin Poole
Toffee apples
Emma Franklin's homemade toffee apples from Sainsbury's magazine are just the thing for Bonfire Night
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Ready in 20 minutes
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Cooking time 10 minutes
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Prep time 10 minutes
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Serves 4 – 6
Ingredients
- 175 g light brown soft sugar
- 100 g golden syrup
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 15 g butter
- 4 dessert apples, skewered with forks
Method
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1
Heat the sugar, syrup and vinegar with 2 tablespoons of water in a heavy-based pan, gently swirling the pan until the sugar has dissolved.
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2
Increase the heat and boil for 5-6 minutes, until the syrup reaches the ‘hard crack' stage, at 150°C (see below). Remove from the heat and stir in the butter.
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3
Swiftly dip each apple in the toffee, tilting the pan to create a deep pool of toffee and swirling the apples to get an even coating. Allow the excess to drip off each apple into the pan for a moment, then set them, fork up, on a lightly oiled plate and leave to harden.
For a delicious variation, stir 2 tablespoons orange extract and 2 tablespoons sesame seeds into the toffee with the butter.
Get ahead: the toffee apples will keep for a few hours somewhere cool and dry, any longer and they start to 'weep'.
Kitchen secret: use forks instead of lollipop sticks to skewer your toffee apples for a quirky presentation. If you don’t have a sugar thermometer, drip a little toffee from a spoon into a dish of cold water. If it hardens to brittle threads immediately, it’s ready; if it’s still soft, the toffee needs a little more cooking time.
