For me, Autumn, Halloween and Bonfire night have a smell associated with them, the smell of treacle toffee! Every year, my dad makes his infamous treacle toffee, from a recipe passed down from his mum. This year he decided that it was time to pass it on to his eldest child, so I went round today to help him make it. I've missed the smell of it over the past few years since I permanently moved out, so I was thrilled to be involved this year. The funny thing is that although he had the recipe written out, he didn't stick to the quantities, not even close! A lot of guess work was involved, so really I'm none the wiser as to how it is made, but I do know you need brown sugar, butter, syrup and a bit of vinegar...
... then add the treacle, not too much though...
...keep stirring it on a low heat until it begins to boil then boil it until it reaches 180 degreses and it is clear on the back of a spoon.
Pour it into a tray covered with grease proof paper and leave to set.
Under the watchful eye of blossom the cat...
...break it into pieces...
...then put it into packs ready to give to friends and family.
It wouldn't feel like this time of year without my dad's treacle toffee. Even though he guesses the quantities, it always tastes the same! Hope you all have a great Halloween weekend.
If I could, i would reach through and grab a bit from your picture it looks so yummy! It's lovely to have recipes handed down through families. xxx
ReplyDeleteIt's really special to spend time with our parents when we are "grown ups" too .I'm glad you had such a lovely time .
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