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Toffee bonbons
A firm shell, a chewy toffee centre and a coat of icing sugar: toffee is one of the flavours of the British bonbon. Here is what goes into them, and the allergy points worth knowing.
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In Britain, a bonbon is a hard sweet with a chewy centre, coated in icing sugar, and toffee is one of the flavours, along with strawberry, lemon and blue raspberry: see strawberry bonbons. Toffee bonbons have a chewy toffee centre inside a firmer shell, and they are sold loose, dusted in icing sugar rather than wrapped.
What is in them
Recipes vary between makers. Two examples show the range.
Sweets and Candy's toffee bonbons list sugar, glucose syrup, sweetened condensed whole milk, fully hydrogenated coconut fat, salt, dextrose, flavouring, gum arabic as a stabiliser and mono and diglycerides of fatty acids as an emulsifier. The retailer describes them as suitable for vegetarians.
Berrymans' dusted toffee bonbons list sugar, glucose syrup, sweetened condensed skimmed milk, palm oil, whey powder, cornflour, butter, salt, soya lecithin and natural flavouring. Berrymans marks them as vegetarian, gluten free and gelatine free, and sells them in a 605 g jar.
Both recipes use condensed milk for the toffee centre, and Berrymans adds butter and whey: see how is toffee made?
Allergy points
- Milk. Both recipes contain milk, so toffee bonbons are not suitable for anyone with a milk allergy, or for vegans: see milk in sweets
- Soya. Berrymans' recipe contains soya lecithin: see soya in sweets
- Nuts and gluten. Berrymans says its bonbons are packed in a factory that handles nuts, and Sweets and Candy says its facility also processes wheat, gluten, soya, peanuts and nuts: see which sweets contain nuts?
Loved or not
Berrymans itself says toffee bonbons divide opinion, with some people loving them and others not, depending on what they grew up eating.
In our pick and mix
We sell 
Toffee Bonbons by the 100 g. Recipes differ between makers, so the card opens up to show the full ingredients and allergens for the toffee bonbons we actually stock. For a wrapped toffee with a chocolate centre, see chocolate eclairs
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Questions and answers
What are toffee bonbons made of?
Recipes vary. One UK retailer lists sugar, glucose syrup, sweetened condensed whole milk, hydrogenated coconut fat, salt, dextrose, flavouring, gum arabic and an emulsifier, with a dusting of icing sugar.
Do toffee bonbons contain milk?
Yes, in the recipes here: they are made with condensed milk, and one also contains whey powder and butter. They are not suitable for anyone with a milk allergy, or for vegans.
Are toffee bonbons gluten free?
Some are. Berrymans marks its dusted toffee bonbons as gluten free. Another retailer says its bonbons are packed where wheat and gluten are handled, so check the allergen advice for the ones you buy.
Sources
- Bonbon, Wikipedia
- Toffee bon bons 1kg, product listing, Sweets and Candy
- Dusted toffee centred bonbons, Berrymans Sweets
Keep reading
- Sweet by sweetStrawberry bonbonsStrawberry bonbons are a British sweet with a hard outside and a chewy centre, dusted in icing sugar. What is in them, and why one recipe is vegan.
- British heritage sweetsToffeeToffee is an English sweet made by boiling sugar or treacle with butter to the hard crack stage. What it is, where the word came from, and its British forms.
- How it is madeHow is toffee made?Toffee is sugar or treacle boiled with butter to the hard crack stage, 149 to 154°C, then poured out to set. Cooked less, it stays chewier.
- Diet, allergens and labelsMilk in sweetsMilk is one of the 14 allergens. It turns up in chocolate, fudge, toffee, caramel and butterscotch, sometimes as milk powder or whey. How to spot it on a label.
- Diet, allergens and labelsSoya in sweetsSoya can appear in sweets as soya lecithin, E322, an emulsifier used in chocolate. Soya is one of the 14 allergens, though some soya ingredients are exempt.
- Sweet by sweetChocolate eclairsChocolate eclairs are chewy toffees with a chocolate centre. Two UK recipes compared, and the 2008 recall of Cadbury eclairs made in Beijing.