![]() After about 15 minutes, you can score it into pieces if you like and leave it to set completely. ![]() When the mixture gets to temperature, take it off the heat and quickly whisk in the bicarb, making sure it is well mixed in. Meanwhile, generously grease an approximately 24cm square tin. Simmer until it reaches 138C and is bubbling and amber (this will take about 10-15 minutes). Heat gently, stirring, until the sugars and butter have dissolved, then turn up the heat very slightly and bring to the boil. Put the sugars, syrup, water and butter in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan with a pinch of salt. It should come out easily if you’re free enough with the butter. If you line it, you risk the prospect of picking pieces of greaseproof paper from your teeth for the next fortnight. Last piece of advice: make sure you grease the tin diligently. To my surprise, 150C seems to work quite well, but the risk of burning the sugar is far higher – I’d advise playing it safe with 138C. Cunning prefers the old cold water test, directing the cook to drop a little in “to see if crisp”, but this is quite stressful – sugar thermometers aren’t expensive, and they do make life a lot easier in this case. Most recipes suggest you take it to hard crack stage, or about 138-140C (280-284F), though Stewart goes even higher, to 150C, and Hope and Greenwood rely on the rather vague instruction to cook it until it’s the colour of marmalade. Lawson’s recipe, which cooks it for a mere three minutes to Hope and Greenwood’s 15, is sticky and chewy (and has the smallest holes of all the versions I try). The higher the temperature to which you heat the sugar, the harder the end result. Caster melts more quickly (though I’ll be ignoring Lawson’s advice and stirring the pan before it comes to the boil – the sugar takes ages to melt otherwise), but Rhodes’s brown sugar has a richer flavour so, like him, I’ll be using both. The colour and texture of the sugar is also up for debate: Hope and Greenwood use ordinary granulated, Nigella Lawson goes for caster and Gary Rhodes opts for demerara (which is, of course, granulated as well as brown) on top of caster. Golden syrup is a good compromise: subtler than the honey, but with a more interesting, caramelised sweetness than the white glucose. Glucose syrup, conversely, seems a bit one-dimensional. I really like the flavour of the honey, but the resulting sweet doesn’t taste like cinder toffee to me – call it honeycomb, and I’m in. Other versions add golden syrup, with Miss Hope and Mr Greenwood’s Sweets Made Simple going for the triple with sugar, golden syrup and glucose syrup for good measure. Let’s face it, this is not a dish for anyone who’s sworn off sugar in recent months – the “healthiest” variety I find is Martha Stewart’s recipe using honey, but even that is in a ratio of 1:6 in the refined sugar’s favour.
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