Treacle Toffee

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A recipe for traditional Treacle Toffee – or Bonfire Toffee! If you’ve never made this classic British sweet before, it’s actually very simple. Let me show you how, step by step…..

A black bowl of treacle toffee shards. The bowl is lined with a piece of brown baking parchment. A gold star decoration sits beside the bowl, and a red tin of Lyle's black treacle with a gold spoon.

For me, Bonfire Night conjures images of woolly hats, warm scarves, sticky Ginger Parkin Cake, Hot Chocolate and big slabs of treacle toffee that shatter like stained glass.

This is a classic treacle toffee recipe. It’s deep, bittersweet and shatters with a satisfying snap. Your dentist will not approve, but an occasional treat will not do any harm!

You only need four ingredients to make it…

An overhead image of a white marbled bowl of butter, a silver bowl of white and dark brown sugar and a red tin of Lyle's black treacle.

ingredients for bonfire toffee

Black Treacle (of course!) Please do not substitute with Golden Syrup. It is NOT the same at all.
Butter – the real thing please, not margarine or baking spreads (they contain water and will affect the outcome of the recipe, not to mention they taste awful!)
Dark Brown Sugar. You could probably use light brown sugar, but the toffee won’t be quite as dark.
White Caster Sugar (for balance – using all dark brown sugar would be a little too much of a good thing)

how to make treacle toffee

Step 1 – Butter and line a shallow 11 x 7 inch (27 x 17 cm) baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Please don’t use tin foil – it will stick to the toffee and you’ll have a total nightmare trying to remove it!

A silver pan of melted butter with a wooden spoon.

Step 2 – Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over a low heat. Add the black treacle, caster sugar and dark brown sugar and allow them to gently melt into the butter. When the sugar has completely dissolved, turn the heat up to medium and bring the mixture to the boil.

Brown sugar, butter and treacle melting in a silver pan with a wooden spoon.

Step 3 – Boil, stirring frequently until a sugar thermometer reads 150𝇈C/300𝇈F. This is known as the “hard crack” stage. It can take between 15-20 minutes to reach the correct temperature – so like making Scottish Tablet, patience is a virtue!

⭐Making toffee requires your full attention – if you walk away even for a few seconds, it could burn! And if it does, there’s no saving it! Don’t be tempted to scroll on Facebook/read messages/emails or watch TV! ⭐

Brown sugar, butter and treacle boiling in a silver pan to make toffee. A silver sugar thermometer rests against the pan.

Step 4 – Using oven gloves, carefully remove the pan from the heat. Pour the mixture into the lined tin. Allow to set – this could take up to one hour.

Unset treacle toffee in a baking tin on a grey work surface.

Step 5 – When the toffee is completely cold, break it into bite-sized pieces with the end of a rolling pin or small hammer.

A black dish of broken treacle toffee pieces. The bowl is lined with a piece of brown baking paper. A red tin of Lyle's Treacle on a black napkin can be partially seen above the bowl, and a gold star decoration sits underneath the bowl.

storing

Bonfire Toffee can be stored in an airtight tin lined with greaseproof paper for up to one week. The toffee will get slightly softer after a few days.

A black bowl of treacle toffee shards. The bowl has been lined with a piece of brown baking paper. A gold star decoration sits beside the bowl and a red tin of Lyle's black treacle can be partially seen.

pro tips

Make sure you use a decent quality heavy-based saucepan and don’t whack the heat up fully – a moderate, steady heat is best to prevent the mixture from burning.

A sugar thermometer is the easiest and safest way to make toffee (or any kind of sweets). You can pick them up in most big supermarkets these days. I use this Tala one – it’s not fancy, but it’s inexpensive and works perfectly well.

Once the mixture starts to boil, keep stirring – and don’t leave it alone, even for a second.

Safety first – it should go without saying, but boiling sugar is extremely hot. Keep children and pets well away, never touch or lick hot syrup and watch your hands and arms for splashes.

Please note that this toffee is meant to be hard set – it should shatter into shards, so you won’t be able to cut it with a knife! You’ll need to use a hammer or the end of a rolling pin to bash it – which is all part of the fun, of course!

FAQS

What is Treacle Toffee?

Treacle Toffee is a traditional British hard toffee made with black treacle for a strong, bittersweet taste.

Is black treacle the same as molasses?

No, they are not the same..they might look the same, but they are produced in slightly different ways. Black treacle is slightly sweeter than molasses. I would not recommend using blackstrap molasses to make treacle toffee – it’s far too bitter. Dark molasses can be used instead, but the flavour will be slightly different.

I don’t have a sugar thermometer – can I still make toffee?

A sugar thermometer is a very useful tool when making candy and sweets, but if you don’t have one, you can do the “water test”. When you think the toffee might be ready, drop a small amount of the hot syrup into a glass of very cold water. Wait a few moments, then remove it from the water. It should form brittle threads that crack when bent

An overhead image of a black bowl of treacle toffee pieces. The toffee has been smashed to achieve irregular shards. The bowl is lined with a piece of brown baking paper, a gold star decoration and a red tin of Lyle's black Treacle sitting on a black napkin.

more recipes perfect for halloween or bonfire night

Yield: Makes up to 20 pieces of toffee

How to make Treacle Toffee, the Bonfire Night classic British sweet! Deep, dark and delicious with a satisfying snap, it's very easy to make - you just need a little patience.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

125g Salted Butter, plus a little extra for greasing the tin
125g Soft Dark Brown Sugar
100g Caster Sugar
225g Black Treacle

Instructions

Butter and line a shallow 11 x 7 inch (27 x 17 cm) baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Please don't use tin foil - it will stick to the toffee and you'll have a total nightmare trying to remove it!
Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over a low heat. Add the black treacle, caster sugar and dark brown sugar and allow them to gently melt into the butter. When the sugar has completely dissolved, turn the heat up to medium and bring the mixture to the boil.
Boil, stirring frequently until a sugar thermometer reads 150𝇈C/300𝇈F. This is known as the "hard crack" stage. If you don't have a sugar thermometer, drop a small amount of the hot syrup into a glass of very cold water. Wait a few moments, then remove it from the water. It should form brittle threads that crack when bent. It can take between 15-20 minutes to reach the correct temperature.
Using oven gloves, carefully remove the pan from the heat. Pour the mixture into the lined tin. Allow to set - this could take up to one hour.
When the toffee is completely cold, break it into bite-sized pieces with the end of a rolling pin or small hammer.

Notes

Bonfire Toffee can be stored in an airtight tin lined with greaseproof paper for up to one week. The toffee will get slightly softer after a few days.

Treacle toffee can be frozen for up to 1 month, but please make sure it's completely defrosted before eating, or you might lose a tooth!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 88Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 42mgCarbohydrates: 11gSugar: 11gProtein: 0g

Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.