Description
A crisp, thermometer-cooked butter–almond toffee slab topped with dark chocolate and finished with an easy white-chocolate spiderweb drawn while the chocolate is still workable.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional; add at the end)
- 1 cup (120 g) sliced almonds, lightly toasted (optional but recommended)
- 10 oz (283 g) dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate, divided
- 1/2 cup (85 g) white chocolate chips (for the web)
Instructions
- Prep the pan: Line a 9×13 in (23×33 cm) pan with parchment, leaving overhang. Set aside.
- Toast almonds (optional but recommended): Bake almonds at 325°F / 163°C for 8–10 minutes. Cool, then scatter them evenly across the parchment-lined pan.
- Cook the toffee: In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring slowly and continuously with a heatproof spatula and scraping the bottom and corners, until the mixture reaches 300°F / 149°C on a candy thermometer and turns deep amber. Remove from the heat; after the bubbling settles for about 10 seconds, carefully stir in the optional vanilla while keeping your face and hands back from the steam.
- Pour and set: Immediately pour the hot toffee over the toasted almonds in the lined pan and spread only if needed. Let it cool undisturbed until the surface looks matte and not fluid (usually 15–20 minutes, depending on your kitchen).
- Cover with dark chocolate: Melt about 2/3 of the dark chocolate. Pour and spread evenly over the toffee. Melt the remaining dark chocolate if needed to fully cover. Let sit 5–10 minutes until the top is set but still slightly pliable (it should not smear off easily if you drag a fork lightly).
- Pipe the spiderweb: Melt white chocolate. Transfer to a small zip-top bag; snip a tiny corner. Pipe 4–5 thin concentric circles, starting near the center and working outward. Before either chocolate sets, drag a clean toothpick from the center to the outside edge at 8 evenly spaced points to create the web. Wipe the toothpick after every drag; gently rewarm the white chocolate if it becomes too thick to pipe.
- Set completely: Let harden at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
- Lift and slice: Lift out using parchment overhang and slice with a sharp knife into about 32 pieces.
Notes
Hot caramel can cause severe burns—use caution and keep the thermometer clipped securely. Don’t scrape cooked toffee with water (splatter risk). If dark chocolate is too soft, wait a few minutes before drawing the web.