Classic English Toffee (Almond Roca) - Curly Girl Kitchen (2024)

This classic recipe for buttery, crunchy English toffee is loaded with almonds, with a layer of bittersweet chocolate. Whether you call it buttercrunch toffee, almond roca, or almond English toffee, this delicious treat is perfect for holiday gift giving, Christmas cookie boxes and dessert tables.

Looking for more recipes like this one? You’ll love these soft and chewy caramels and chocolate chip cookie dough truffles.

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English Toffee vs Almond Roca

So, is there a difference between English toffee and almond roca? They are pretty much the same thing. English toffee is a buttery, crunchy candy that you can make with or without nuts, and almond roca is basically just a brand name for the same candy.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Perfect for the Holidays. Homemade English toffee is such a delicious treat that looks absolutely beautiful stacked on a pretty pedestal dish for a holiday gathering. You can pack it into cute little gift bags or boxes, or include it in your Christmas cookie box.

Uses Standard Pantry Ingredients. There’s no complicated or hard-to-find ingredients, just simple, standard items that most cooks and bakers will have on hand.

Easy to Make. You might be thinking, caramel making is easy? Yeah, right. Well, using a candy thermometer might be a little intimidating, but once you get the hang of it and understand what to watch for as you cook the syrup, then the process becomes quite easy. You’ll even get confident enough to start making double batches of toffee so that you have enough to keep and plenty to give away.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

Before you start making candy, it’s helpful to have some basic knowledge of the stages of candy making, and their corresponding temperatures. All temperatures noted here are in Fahrenheit. Candy can quickly move from one stage to the next, so you have to pay attention.

The Seven Stages of Candy Making

• Thread (223 – 235 F). At this stage, the syrup drips from a spoon, forming thin threads in water. This is ideal for a glacé or candied fruit that’s glazed in syrup.
• Soft Ball (235 – 245 F). The syrup easily forms a ball in cold water, but flattens once removed from the water. For fudge and fondant.
• Firm Ball (245 – 250 F). The syrup can be formed into a stable ball, but can be pressed flat. For soft caramels.
• Hard Ball (250 – 266 F). The syrup holds its shape but has a sticky texture. For marshmallows and divinity.
• Soft Crack (270 – 290 F). The syrup will form firm but pliable threads. For nougat and salt-water taffy.
• Hard Crack (300-310 F). The syrup will crack if you try to mold it. For brittles, toffee and lollipops.
• Caramel (320 – 350 F). The syrup will turn golden and is very brittle. For pralines or hard caramelized sugar.

TIP: DON’T rely solely on a candy thermometer for accuracy in your candy making. I always recommend keeping a glass of ice water next to the stove, to do a cold water test. This helps to ensure the candy is cooked to the correct temperature.

High Altitude Adjustments

High altitude cooking and baking is not as straightforward as at sea level. With the increased elevation, the air pressure decreases. The lower air pressure causes baked goods to rise more quickly (and then fall), causing sunken, dense gummy cakes and flat cookies. This is resolved with some careful recipe adjustments including increasing the flour and liquid, and decreasing the sugar and leavening.

The falling air pressure also lowers the boiling point of water and liquids, which means that water will cook off more quickly, and at a lower temperature. For candy making, this means that for every 500 feet of elevation, you should subtract 1 degree (Fahrenheit) from the suggested temperature range. So to make English toffee at Denver’s high altitude of just over 5,000 feet, you need to subtract 10 degrees. If the hard crack range is 300-310, then at 5,000 feet it would be around 290-300. Knowing this is crucial to successful candy making at every elevation.

Essential Tools

• Heavy Bottomed Stock Pot or Dutch Oven. For consistent and even heat distribution, it’s important to use a good stock pot or Dutch oven with a thick heavy bottom.
• Wooden Spoon. For stirring the toffee.
• Large Baking Sheet + Parchment Paper. After cooking the toffee, you’ll be pouring it onto a parchment lined baking sheet to cool and harden. The toffee doesn’t stick to the parchment paper, making cleanup a breeze.
• Candy Thermometer. Essential to monitoring the temperature of syrup during candy making.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

• Butter. I only use unsalted butter for cooking and baking so I can control the saltiness. If your butter is salted, be sure to omit the extra salt in the recipe.
• Water.
• Light Corn Syrup. As an invert sugar, the corn syrup helps to stabilize the sugars in the syrup and prevent crystallization.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Nutmeg. Totally optional, but I like the hint of spice and flavor it adds.
• Sugar. Use plain white granulated sugar, not brown sugar.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Almonds. Adds crunch and a nutty flavor, both in the toffee layer and sprinkled on top.
• Chocolate Chips. I like to use bittersweet chocolate chips for the chocolate layer, to balance the sweetness of the syrup.
• Finishing Salt. For a salty sweet flavor, sprinkle a little flaky finishing salt on top.

Instructions

Get everything ready.

• Measure ALL your ingredients so everything is ready to go.
• Chop the almonds and set aside.
• Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Be sure to use a heavy-bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven for even heat distribution. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot to monitor the temperature.
• Set a glass or bowl of ice water next to the stove.
• Eliminate distractions, as you do not want to step away from the stove while you’re cooking the toffee.

TIP: Toffee needs constant attention, and you need to stir it constantly. DON’T walk away from the stove. DON’T look at your phone. DO just stand there and stir.

Cook the toffee.

• Over medium or medium/low heat, melt the butter in the stock pot.
• Add the water, corn syrup, salt, nutmeg and sugar, pouring the sugar gently into the middle of the butter. Let the sugar start to dissolve and melt into the butter, then use your wooden spoon to gently stir the mixture. Avoid stirring the sugar against the side of the pot, as sugar crystals could cause the toffee to crystallize. When the sugar looks mostly dissolved, rinse off your spoon to rid it of sugar crystals. If you see any sugar crystals on the side of the pot, wash them down with a wet pastry brush.
• Continue to cook the syrup, stirring constantly (a slow, gentle stir, not vigorous). If the temperature seems to be rising too quickly, turn the heat down a touch. You want to cook sugar over moderate heat that doesn’t cook the sugar too quickly, or you risk burning it.
• If you’re using an accurate candy thermometer, watch as the temperature gets closer to the 300-310 F range for the hard crack stage (290-300 F at 5,000 feet elevation). If you’re not using a thermometer, watch the subtle color changes of the sugar, as it starts to deepen in color and scent. Drizzle a small amount of syrup into the ice water, wait a few seconds, then scoop it out and test it between your teeth. If it’s chewy and sticky, the sugar is not ready. If it crunches, it’s reached the hard crack stage. It should take about 15-20 minutes to reach this stage.

Add the almonds and chocolate.

• Immediately, remove the pot from the heat, and stir in the vanilla and 1 cup of the chopped almonds. It’s normal for the syrup to hiss a little at this point.
• Working quickly, pour the mixture onto the parchment lined baking sheet, and use a spatula to spread it out into a slab. The toffee will start to harden quickly, so you have to move fast.
• Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the hot toffee. Wait a few minutes until they are glossy and soft, then use an offset spatula to spread the melted chocolate out to cover the toffee in a thin layer.
• Sprinkle the chocolate with the remaining 1/4 cup of chopped almonds. If you like, sprinkle the top with a little flaky finishing salt, such as Maldon.

Cool and Cut the Toffee

• Set the pan on a cooling rack and let the toffee cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Set in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes to finish cooling and set the chocolate.
• Peel the parchment paper off the cooled toffee and set the slab on a large cutting board. Use a large chef’s knife to cut squares, or just break it into uneven shards.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is English toffee the same thing as almond roca?

They are pretty much the same thing. English toffee is a buttery, crunchy candy that you can make with or without nuts, and almond roca is basically just a brand name for the same candy.

Can you make toffee without nuts?

You sure can, just leave them out completely, or do a lighter sprinkling on top of the chocolate.

Will other nuts besides almonds work?

Yes, instead of almonds, you can use pecans, hazelnuts, cashews or macadamia nuts.

Do I have to stir the toffee constantly?

Yes, you need to stir it constantly for even heat distribution and to prevent any sugar crystals from forming. Don’t walk away from the stove while you’re making toffee, even for a minute. You should stir it slowly and gently, not vigorously.

How long does it take to reach the hard crack stage?

Over medium or medium-low heat, it should take about 15-20 minutes to reach the hard crack stage. A double batch may take 25-30 minutes.

How do I know when the toffee is done?

I encourage you to use a candy thermometer if you have one, but NOT to rely solely on the thermometer, but to use other important cues as well. As the mixture cooks, it will start go through several changes of color, from white, to pale yellow, to amber/golden, and then a deeper peanut butter color. As the color deepens and the scent is stronger, you know it’s getting close.

You should have a glass of ice water sitting right by the stove. If you think the toffee is nearly ready, let a few drops drip off your spoon into the ice water. Wait a few seconds, fish it out, and crunch it between your teeth. If it’s chewy, it’s not ready yet. If it’s crisp and crunchy, it’s done! But if the mixture starts to take on a burned smell and looks charred on the bottom of the pot, then it’s gone too far, and there’s no way to save it.

Why is my toffee chewy instead of crunchy?

Your toffee could be chewy if you cooked it on a particularly humid day. The other reason simply comes down to not cooking it long enough. Toffee must be cooked to the correct temperature for the “hard crack” stage.

Why did my toffee crystallize?

One of the biggest frustrations in making caramel and toffee is a grainy, sugary, crystallized mixture, rather than smooth creamy caramel and crunchy buttery toffee. Crystallization can occur when there are sugar crystals on the sides of the pot that get stirred down into the mixture. Here are a few tips to prevent that from happening:

• Don’t omit the corn syrup. Corn syrup is an invert sugar, and by adding it to the mixture, it helps to stabilize the granulated sugar and prevent crystallization.
• Stir the toffee gently, without splashing the sides of the pot. After melting the butter, pour the corn syrup and the sugar into the middle of the butter, but don’t immediately stir it around. Let the sugar start to melt and dissolve, and then stir gently to avoid splashing the sides of the pot with any undissolved sugar crystals.
• Make sure your spoon and the sides of the pot are clean of sugar crystals. After adding the sugar and stirring it in, I ALWAYS rinse off my spoon to rid it of sugar crystals, or simply switch to a clean spoon to continue stirring the toffee. Carefully inspect the sides of the pot, and if you see any sugar crystals, use a wet pastry brush to clean them off.
• Use moderate heat. Toffee takes a little time to make, and it’s not something you should rush. Depending on the intensity of your stove, you should use medium heat, or just a touch under. My front burners are quite intense, so I keep the heat somewhere between medium and medium low.

Why did my toffee separate?

The syrup can separate if there’s an abrupt change in temperature (suddenly hotter or colder), or if the mixture isn’t stirred constantly. This is why it’s crucial to use a heavy-bottomed pot for even, consistent heat distribution and keep stirring. If yours separated, you can try to bring it back together by stirring in a couple tablespoons of hot water.

What kind of chocolate should I use?

Chocolate chips are a great option, and I love dark or bittersweet, but you can use semisweet or milk if that’s what you like. You can also chop up a bar of good quality chocolate.

Can I use margarine or vegan butter instead of real butter?

No, you won’t get good results with butter substitutes.

Should you add baking soda to toffee?

Many recipes call for adding 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to the toffee mixture (after cooking it) to help give it a lighter crunch and better texture. I’ve never tried it, since I have no complaints about the texture of my recipe. But it couldn’t hurt to try it!

How do I store leftover toffee?

In warm weather, I keep my toffee in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where it will stay fresh for several months. Toffee is delicious cold from the fridge. In cooler weather, store it in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze toffee in an airtight container or zip top bag for up to 3-6 months.

Can this recipe be doubled?

Yes, you can definitely make a double batch of this English toffee recipe. Make sure you’ve mastered the technique first with a small batch, before trying a larger batch. A larger batch will also take a few minutes longer to reach the hard crack stage.

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