Cakes & Bakes: Plot toffee

'Cakes & Bakes' blog post banner

Jar of home-made plot toffee | @hisforhome #recipe #toffee #candy #sweets

Plot toffee – otherwise known as bonfire toffee – is a traditional Yorkshire sweet eaten in the autumn around Halloween and – you guessed it – Bonfire Night!

It’s called Plot toffee after the Gunpowder Plot. It’s referred to by different names in different parts of the country; loshin du or taffi triog (Wales), Tom Trot (Yorkshire), claggum, clag or clack (Scotland).

Some recipes include a little milk and malt vinegar like this one that I’m using from A Yorkshire Cookbook by Mary Hanson Moore. Others I’ve come across include ginger, cayenne pepper and even chilli powder.

Plot toffee

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Cuisine British
Servings 300 g

Ingredients
  

  • 225 g Demerara sugar
  • 55 g black treacle
  • 55 g butter
  • 2 tsp water
  • 2 tsp milk
  • 2 tsp malt vinegar

Instructions
 

  • Bring all the ingredients except the vinegar to the boil stirring constantly
  • Boil gently for 15-20 minutes, still stirring, until the mixture becomes brittle when a small piece is dropped into cold water. Even better, if you have a jam thermometer the temperature needs to reach the hard crack stage of 149-154°C / 300-310°F
  • Stir in the vinegar and then pour into a well-greased tin
  • When nearly set, you can score it deeply into squares. Alternatively, allow to cool and give it a bash with a toffee hammer
  • Store in an airtight jar or container
Keyword sweets, toffee