IT seems sticky jaw-breakers sprinkled with 100s and 1000s or desiccated coconut, bright red toffee apples and nut brittles may be old-fashioned but are still a feature at the local fete.
"I think it's one of those things that bring your childhood flooding back," says home cook Rebecca Sullivan, who is a keen advocate of bringing granny's skills back into the kitchen.
"It's a total nostalgia trip. You can smell it, you can taste it, you can feel it."
What was once a simple combination of caster sugar and water in a paper is now being reinvented,
with new flavours and bright decorations.
"It's mainly the decorations that make it colourful and pretty," says Rebecca, who has just released the kitchen tips and cookbook Like Grandma Used To Make.
Rebecca uses cream in her brittle to make it less hard and more stretchy, soft and sticky, along with alternative ingredients such as pistachios and rosewater, topped by dried rose petals to add a new dimension.
Candied persimmon, dried cranberries, apricots and citrus peel are other go-tos.
HOT AND COLD
REBECCA'S hot tips include making toffee in a coolish room as toffee will not set when there is humidity.
Use a pastry brush to push down the sugar on the sides of your pan. This will make sure you will not get any gritty sugar residue left in the mix.
"It might sound obvious," she says, "but don't use your fingers to test the temperature of your toffee."
SMASHING IDEA
RATHER than paper cases, Rebecca puts her toffee on baking paper on a tray, then smashes it into irregular shapes once it has cooled. She puts it into a jar with a ribbon around the lid to give as gifts.
STICKJAW TOFFEES
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Skills needed: Basic
2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
100s and 1000s, to decorate
Line 18 mini muffin pans with paper cases. Combine sugar, water, vinegar and cream of tartar in a small saucepan.
Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves completely. Bring to the boil. Boil, without stirring, occasionally brushing down the side of the pan with a wet pastry brush, for 18-20 minutes or until light golden. Set aside for 1-2 minutes or until the bubbles subside.
Transfer the toffee to a metal jug. Pour the toffee evenly among the cases.
Sprinkle toffees with and Thousands 100s and 1000s and set aside for 15-20 minutes to set. Store in an airtight container.
Recipe: Michelle Southan, Australian Good Taste
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