Homemade Toffee Apples

Is there anything more autumnal than a toffee apple? The sweetness of that first taste, the crack of the toffee, the sharpness of the apple. It's the ultimate treat, just before the sparklers and a few fireworks for good measure.

The marvellous folks at Denby recently got in touch with us and asked us if we'd like to get involved with the Great Denby Cake Off, which closes today! With a chockablock schedule for the blog, we weren't sure if we'd squeeze it in. I spent this morning making cinder toffee and toffee apples, which may not really qualify as cake, but certainly a bit of skill and a watchful eye. Here's how to make them (and I would definitely say this is adults only - too fiddly and hot for kids).

~ . Recipe from BBC Good Food . ~

You will need:

8 apples (Good Food recommends granny smiths, and that's what I used, but I reckon any fresh apple with a decent crunch will do)
400g caster sugar
1 tsp vinegar
4 tbsp golden syrup

1. Wash the apples in hot water prior to dunking (this helps the toffee to stick), pull the stalks off and skewer.

2. Dry the apples and place onto greaseproof paper. Pour the sugar into a deep saucepan with 100ml water. Heat on a medium temperature for 5 minutes, making sure the sugar melts.

3. Stir in the vinegar and the syrup, and whack up the temperature to boil the mixture. Keep stirring to make sure it doesn't burn. If you have a sugar thermometer, it needs to get to 150c, but if not then pour a little into a bowl of cold water - it should come out hard, and not too pliable. This will take a while.

4. When it's ready, dip and roll the apples one by one to get a good even coating of toffee. Allow excess to drip off before returning to the greaseproof paper.

5. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and enjoy! You can really get creative with these - popping candy, seasalt, chopped walnuts, melted chocolate, sprinkles - you can try all sorts. Perfect for Bonfire night next weekend!

Happy Halloween!

Felicity