Toffee Apples & A Little Bit of Hokey Pokey!!

Here is my next installment of Bonfire Night treats! I’ve been making toffee apples each year for Bonfire Night since time began or so it seems! I started this ritual instead of buying those deep-red-coloured bruised variety that are on sale in the stores. They are SO much fun to make, not to mention a gorgeous coating of lush crackling toffee to get your teeth into!


Toffee Apples

Makes 8

Ingredients
500g(1 lb 2 oz) Demerara sugar

2 tsp vinegar

50g (2 oz) unsalted butter

50g (2 oz) golden syrup
150ml (5 fl oz) water

8 medium apples, washed and dried

You will also need 8 wooden sticks and advisable a sugar thermometer. A baking tray lined with a non-stick mate to place the toffee apples on to set.

Method

In a saucepan add the sugar, vinegar, unsalted butter, golden syrup and water. Place over a low heat on the stove and stir until melted. Bring the mixture to boiling point then boil for about 12 minutes or until a sugar thermometer reaches 140°C and the mixture is golden.

Take the wooden sticks and insert them into the stalk end, now carefully dip each apple into the very hot toffee mixture in a swirling motion making sure each apple is coated well. Place on the non-stick baking mate to set for about 10 minutes.

Wrap in cellophane or like I do in cling film.

Hokey Pokey / Cinder Toffee / Honeycomb

Hokey pokey, something the Domestic Goddess Nigella Lawson herself states, “no one can resist”, the recipe can be found in her new cookbook “Express”. This is fast, fun and very easy to make. I placed my hokey pokey mixture on a Teflon baking mate to set and it broke easily into shards of wonderful golden deliciousness. A great little recipe to make for Bonfire Night or even for a treat when you have that “Crunchie” feeling coming on.

Hokey Pokey

Ingredients
100g caster sugar
4 x 15ml tablespoons of golden syrup
1½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

Method

Put the sugar and syrup into a saucepan and stir together to mix. You mustn’t stir once the pan’s on the heat.

Place the pan on the heat and let the mixture first melt, then turn to goo and then to a bubbling mass of colour of maple syrup – this will take 3 minutes or so.

Off the heat, whisk in the bicarbonate of soda and it will froth up the pan. Turn this out immediately onto a piece of reusable baking parchment or greased foil.

Leave until set and then bash at it, so that it splinters into many pieces.

Makes 125g.