English toffee has two forms: hard and slab. Both originated in the early 1800s and are made with similar ingredients, but differ in cooking time. The slab shape is often topped with chocolate and nuts, while the hard form is commonly found in Almond Roca candy. English candy can also be soft and chewy, like saltwater taffy. The slab shape inspired the English toffee biscuit, a pastry topped with caramel nut mixture and chocolate chips.
The English Toffee often delights the gourmet, but also sparks the debate about its origins. Candy of any kind might be made in a hard form, covered in nuts and perhaps chocolate, or it might be soft and chewy in some way. Food historians suggest that both forms of caramel originated around the same time in the early 1800s.
Americans are used to thinking of English candy as a hard, buttery candy that can be covered in nuts and chocolate. Alternatively, the English toffee could be a slab of toffee simply topped with chocolate and a sprinkle of nuts. The former shape can easily be found in the popular Almond Roca candy, but the slab shape is also recognizable and popular.
In England, English candy is often served individually wrapped. It often has nuts added, but it may not be the hard shape most familiar to Americans. Instead it can be gooey and chewy, and what most Americans would call taffy, like saltwater taffy.
Very often the ingredients of any of the variations are relatively similar. What differs is the cooking time and whether the candy is taken out. Most of the recipes are a mix of butter and brown sugar, molasses or corn syrup. The candy is boiled until it reaches a certain temperature.
For example, slab type English toffee is usually boiled to the hard crack stage at about 310 F (154.44 C). It is then poured in a thin layer, preferably on a marble board. It is allowed to cool almost completely before the chocolate chips are added and smoothed over the candy as they melt. A layer of nuts, usually almonds or walnuts, is added to the chocolate before it hardens.
This form of English candy is then broken into pieces, which can vary in size. It will keep well for several weeks when packed in reasonably airtight containers away from heat sources.
The thickness of the slab of English caramel can vary. A thicker candy can be made by pouring the candy into a smaller pan instead of a marble board. There is no desired layer thickness.
English candy similar to Almond Roca is made by cutting the candy into small pieces before it cools completely. The pieces are dipped in chocolate and then in nuts. Some recipes also add nuts to the sugar/butter mix. The pieces can be wrapped or when completely cooled they can be packed together.
The slab shape of English toffee also inspired the English toffee biscuit. Technically it’s not candy. It’s rather a layer of pastry topped and baked with a caramel nut mixture and then covered in chocolate chips, which melt on top of the candy. Many find it a superlative cookie to offer to friends during the holiday season.
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