Wednesday 29 October 2014

Toffee Apple Disaster.

So, its Half Term and I have lots of time on my hands - lucky me. I came over all Martha Stewart today and decided it would be marvelous if I wrote a magnificent post on how to make Toffee Apples. How hard can it be?? And I could take the delicious Toffee Apples to my mum's house to share with my triplet nephews.

First Job ... stick sticks in apples

My first job was to stick my sticks into my apples. An easy job, but finding the sticks proved tricky. Bewildered faces met me at every turn when I went into various supermarkets to ask for Toffee Apple sticks. You would have thought I'd asked for some sort of instrument of torture...

But in my Earth Mother mode I was not daunted. I would make my own damn sticks from Mother Nature herself. I grabbed my clippers and went outside in the rain to chop twigs of the appropriate size. Good work Mrs Secret Housewife!!

Then came the other ingredients ...

400g of sugar

150ml apple juice & 100ml maple syrup

And a teaspoon of cider vinegar ...

The next bit I was a tad nervous about. I would go as far as to say that I was scared. I had to slowly melt the sugar in a sturdy pan without burning either it or myself in a horrible sugar scalding accident. I have read that you don't stir the sugar, you just watch it and shake it lovingly occasionally. So I did.


When it had melted I added the maple syrup and apple juice and cider vinegar, letting it bubble and boil for 7 minutes...

bubbly sugary stuff

And that, dear reader, was when it all went horribly wrong.

Drop little bits into a jug of cold water, they said. And the little bits will solidify into lovely crispy toffeeness.... Well not in my house they don't.

Eventually I thought that I would dip the apples anyway. I mean, how long can a girl boil sugary stuff before she keels over from exhaustion? So I dipped the apples and put them to set on my newly bought baking paper. (Non Stick... I hope)



And before my very eyes most of the sugary sticky stuff slid majestically down the apples to form a delicious pool of ... stuff on my tray.

There may still be some sort of hope. There is a chance that in the next 5 years the toffee will set to a crispy crunchy delight, but I am not overly optimistic. Still, at least I tried and I hope that, if you attempt or have attempted Toffee Apples you are more successful than me.





4 comments:

joy said...

My dad used to make toffee, it was like trying to eat bricks. Almost put me off toffee for life - almost but not completely!

the 1970s diet said...

well done - I opted for the easy option - microwave chocolate and sprinkles. Love your stick sticks - you can get the lolly sticks in craft/stationery shops x

Morgan Prince said...

Oh no Sarah! I have to admit I've never tried Toffee Apples, they scare me. But this is just the kind of thing that would happen to me too!
I'm no Martha Stewart and no matter how much I convince myself I can be, reality always hits back - hard! :)
Good on you for trying though! x

Sarah Pellew said...

My Mum used to make black treacle toffee for Bonfire night. It was delicious, but could be temperamental!! Glad you weren't put off for life Joy!

Thanks Natasha for the heads up on sticks! I shall remember that for next time ... if there is a next time!

Hi Morgan! I'm glad to hear I'm not alone in my fear of toffee! Thanks for commenting!!

Sarah
xxx