*Do not be tempted to substitute the butter in this recipe with anything else, sadly it won’t work.
** You can leave the English toffee as is, without chocolate or almonds, or use either just the chocolate or just the almonds.
- 100g (1 cup) whole almonds (optional)
- 450g (1 lb) unsalted butter
- 530g (18 ⅔ oz) granulated sugar
- 80ml (⅓ cup) water
- 85g (¼ cup) golden syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 200g (7oz) bittersweet chocolate (optional) finely chopped
Toast the nuts by spreading them on a cookie sheet and placing them in a 160℃ (325℉) oven for approximately 10 minutes until fragrant. Let them cool and chop coarsely.
Line a large rimmed cookie sheet, with heavy-duty aluminum foil, and spray with cooking spray.
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, combine the butter, sugar, water, and golden syrup over high heat and bring to a boil. Attached a candy thermometer.
Continue to cook until the temperature reaches the hard crack stage 150°C (300°F).
Remove from heat, add the vanilla, and pour on to the prepared pan. Sprinkle salt over the setting toffee.
Allow to set for about 5 minutes, sprinkle the chopped chocolate evenly over the toffee, it will still be super hot, so the chocolate will melt into the toffee. Let set for another 2 minutes and sprinkle with the toasted chopped almonds.
Allow to set until the chocolate has hardened and the toffee is brittle. Break up into small pieces and store in an airtight container, the toffee will keep for 2 weeks.
