English Almond Butter Toffee

Read the whole method first. Allow about 15 minutes to line the 20 × 25cm metal tin with oven-rated baking parchment over its base and sides, leaving secure lifting handles, and set it on a stable heatproof surface beside the hob. Do not grease it. Weigh every ingredient, cut the butter and chop the chocolate to 5mm or smaller. Check your sugar thermometer for accuracy as its maker directs, allowing for local altitude: near sea level, boiling water should read about 100°C. Replace an inaccurate thermometer rather than guessing a correction, and dry it before use. Use a probe suitable for the syrup depth and rated above 150°C. During the final 10 minutes of setup, preheat the oven to 180°C conventional / 160°C fan. If setup, the thermometer check or preheating takes longer, add that time. Clear children and pets from the work area, have dry oven gloves ready and leave a clear route from pan to tin. Hot sugar sticks to skin: never taste it or touch it to test the stage.

Spread all 100g flaked almonds on the separate baking tray. Toast for about 8 minutes, checking and turning halfway at about 4 minutes, until lightly golden and nutty-smelling, not dark brown. Remove with oven gloves, switch off the oven and leave the almonds on the tray for about 10 minutes, until cool enough to handle. They colour quickly at the edges; stop early if ready or allow extra toasting if still pale.

Allow about 3 minutes to divide the entire cooled toasted batch approximately 70:30: roughly seven-tenths for the base and the remaining three-tenths for the topping. Spread the larger portion evenly across the lined tin. Lightly crumble the remaining smaller portion between your fingers into smaller flakes and keep it for the chocolate top. Use all the cooled almonds; no exact post-toast weight or extra almonds are required. Set the chopped chocolate and a palette knife within reach, away from steam. The tin must be ready before the sugar goes on the hob.

Put all 200g unsalted butter into the heavy 3-litre saucepan and melt over low heat for about 5 minutes without browning. Add all 240g granulated sugar, the 40ml water and 1g fine salt before raising the heat. Stir gently over low heat for about 5 minutes, until there are no obvious sugar granules when the spoon passes across the base; do not rub a hot sample between your fingers. Allow extra gentle heating if still visibly gritty. Keep dry crystals from the upper pan sides out of the mixture. Secure the thermometer as its maker specifies, with the sensing part immersed but not touching the base or obstructing the spoon.

Raise to medium-low or medium heat to maintain a steady, moderate bubble, not a violent boil. Allow roughly 18 minutes from the end of the dissolution stage, but follow the thermometer rather than the clock. Stir gently, steadily and frequently with the long-handled utensil, passing across the base to prevent catching without scraping dried crystals from the upper sides. Stay at the pan throughout. The mixture should become an even golden amber; the temperature can rise quickly near the end. At exactly 150°C, take the pan off the heat immediately, even if the estimated time is not up, and switch off the hob. Do not wait for it to darken further or leave it sitting in the hot pan. If a persistent clear oil layer, sandy grains, smoke or a burnt smell develops, remove from heat and leave the batch to cool safely rather than trying to rescue it with a splash of water.

Allow about 2 minutes for safe transfer. Put the pan briefly on the nearby trivet and remove the thermometer using its handle and dry heat protection as its maker directs; place it somewhere heatproof. Using dry oven gloves and keeping your face and free hand clear of the steam and pour, promptly pour the toffee evenly over the almond base (roughly seven-tenths of the cooled batch). Do not scrape crusty residue from the pan sides into the tin and do not touch or hand-level the hot slab. The hot toffee will settle around the nuts. Leave the empty pan safely aside to cool before cleaning; never pour cold water into hot sugar or hot fat.

Leave the slab undisturbed for about 3 minutes, until the surface has stopped moving but is still hot. Allow 1 minute to scatter all 120g finely chopped dark chocolate evenly over it without touching the toffee. Leave for about 3 minutes to soften from the retained heat, longer if needed. Allow about 2 minutes to spread the soft chocolate gently with the palette knife into a thin top layer and scatter all the reserved crumbled toasted almonds (roughly three-tenths of the cooled batch) over it. Do not press the nuts down with your fingers or force a knife through firm chocolate. Keep the tin on its heatproof surface throughout; do not put it on a hob to hurry the melting.

Leave the topped slab undisturbed at cool room temperature for at least 3 hours (180 minutes), away from sunlight and splashes. This is a full setting allowance, not merely a surface-cooling pause. Before lifting, the tin and centre must be entirely cold, the chocolate firm rather than tacky and a cold edge of toffee should snap rather than bend. If any of these checks fails, leave it longer and add the extra cooling time; a warm room may extend the wait. Do not lift a warm slab or taste warm sugar to check whether it has set.

Once fully cold and firm, allow about 5 minutes to lift the slab by both parchment handles onto a board. Peel the paper away, check none is caught underneath and break the slab by hand into about 32 small irregular pieces, keeping fingers away from sharp edges. Aim for two pieces per sharing serving rather than exact squares. Do not drive a knife through a hard slab or use a screwdriver or hammer. If it is too hard to break comfortably, leave the larger pieces as they are rather than forcing them. Serve only when completely cold. This is hard, nut-containing confectionery, not a soft caramel.