Toffee nut brittle

Babiche Martens

Toffee brittle seems quite the decadent treat for me, must be all that sugar and the thought of what it is doing for my teeth but hey, it's fun to make.Use whatever nuts you wish and invest in a candy thermometer, which removes any angst regarding whether it will set or not. Do pour the toffee quickly on to the tray, which you need to tip as you go so it spreads - otherwise you will have a thick set lump before you know it.

Ingredients

1 knob	Butter, softened, to grease an oven tray
¼ cup	Water
1 cup	White sugar
½ cup	Light corn syrup
1 ½ cups	Peanuts, raw (Main)
½ cup	Pecans
½ tsp	Salt
2 Tbsp	Butter
1 tsp	Baking soda

Directions

1. Grease the oven tray with the knob of butter.
2. In a heavy saucepan over a medium heat, put in the water, sugar and corn syrup. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then stir in the peanuts, pecans and salt.
3. Either set a candy thermometer and stir the mixture frequently until the temperature reaches 150C or until a small amount dropped into cold water becomes hard and brittle threads.
4. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the butter and baking soda.
5. Pour on to the oven tray and leave until cold. Break into pieces.

Chef's tip

Corn syrup is often used when making sweets and can be found among sugars in specialty food stores and some supermarkets. Light honey and golden syrup can be used as an alternative but the flavour will obviously be altered.