# How to make toffee apples

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## Summary

Toffee apples need sugar syrup boiled to the hard crack stage, about 150°C. A traditional method, the safety rules, and why damp weather can spoil them.

## Description

Toffee apples were sold in London in the 1890s, and they are still sold in autumn for Bonfire Night and Halloween: see toffee apples. Making them at home is simple, but the sugar gets far hotter than boiling water, so an adult must do the cooking.
A word on safety first
The syrup reaches about 150°C, which can cause serious burns. Keep children well back from the pan, and let them help only with the cold jobs, such as washing apples and pushing in sticks. Never leave the pan unattended.
What you need
This method follows a traditional recipe published by the Scottish food writer Claire Jessiman, which makes 6 toffee apples:
6 apples400 g caster sugar50 g salted butter100 ml water4 tablespoons golden syrup1 teaspoon vinegar
You will also need a heavy based pan, a sugar thermometer, 6 lolly sticks and a tray lined with baking parchment.
Method
Prepare the apples. Wash and dry the apples well, pull out the stalks, and push a lolly stick firmly into the top of each one. Stand them on the lined tray.Dissolve the sugar. Put the sugar, butter, water, golden syrup and vinegar in the pan and heat gently until the sugar has completely dissolved.Boil to hard crack. Turn up the heat and let it boil without stirring, which can make the sugar crystallise. Brushing the inside of the pan with a wet pastry brush stops crystals forming on the sides. Keep watching the thermometer until it reads 150°C.Dip. Take the pan off the heat and let the bubbles settle. Tilt the pan and dip each apple, turning it to coat it evenly, then let the extra drip off.Set. Stand the apples back on the parchment until the coating is hard.
Why the hard crack stage matters
Sugar syrup changes as it gets hotter and loses water. Sweet makers name the stages by what a drop of syrup does when it cools: at soft crack it forms threads that are just pliable, and at hard crack the threads are brittle. Stop too early, and the coating stays chewy and sticky: see why is my toffee not hardening?
Keeping them
Toffee apples are best eaten within about 48 hours, before the toffee softens. Store them somewhere cool, but not in the fridge. Damp weather can stop the coating from hardening in the first place, so choose a dry day to make them.

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