Toffee Apples for happy children

toffee-apples

All children love toffee apples!

It is the crunch of the toffee,  then the gentler crunch as the teeth pierce the apple skin. The smell of the apple and the juice as it dribbles down the chin! Followed quickly by the slurp!

Well, that is my experience anyway!

So with this in mind I thought I would help out with an easy toffee apple recipe. toffee-apples Toffee Apples for happy children

Safety points – toffee or caramel gets EXTREMELY hot when cooking – well above 100C so all children must be kept well away from the pan.

Ingredients

  • 500g Demerara sugar
  • 75g butter
  • 225g Lyle’s Golden Syrup
  • 150ml water
  • 2 tsp malt vinegar
  • 8 medium apples, wiped
  • Lollipop sticks

Equipment:

Large heavy based pan

Wooden spoon

Silicon pastry brush

Baking paper sheet

This makes 8
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Method

Put the sugar, butter, syrup water and vinegar onto a large heavy based pan. Heat gently for about 5 minutes, stirring until the sugar had dissolved.
Using a clean pastry brush, brush the inside of the pan with cold water just above the level of the mixture, then bring to the boil. Boil rapidly for 5-10 minutes or until the temperature reaches the soft crack stage or 143oC.

Meanwhile push the wooden sticks into the centre of the apples. Place a sheet on parchment paper on a tray.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow the bubbles to settle. Dip the apples very carefully onto the toffee to coat well. Twirl each around a few seconds to allow the excess toffee to drip off and place on the paper to cool and harden.

You can of course decorate them with sugar bits whilst they cool but I like them “au naturelle”.
To store – if you aren’t going to consume them quickly the toffee will absorb water vapour from the air and will lose its crunch or even go a bit gloopy! So wrap them in baking parchment individually or in acetate sheets and put them in an airtight container. They will keep well for a few days at least. (Of course the apples are juicy so they will soften the toffee over time.)

Tip: the easiest way to test is the toffee has reached 143oC is to use a sugar thermometer. Alternatively, drop a little of the mixture into a bowl of cold water and if the syrup separates into threads which are hard but not brittle, it is ready.

I hope the small and bigger children like these as much as my nieces and nephews do! Nom! Nom!
© Chichester Self Catering. Gayle Palmer
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