Firecracker Bonfire Toffee

Get ready for Bonfire night with this Firecracker Bonfire Toffee, developed by former Great British Bake Off contestant Kate Henry (one of my favourite contestants in 2014!). It is a dark rich toffee made using Opies Stem Ginger and studded with just a few chilli flakes to give it a firecracker hit!

Ingredients

140g Opies Stem Ginger in Syrup
75g Dark Brown Sugar
75g Caster Sugar
50g Unsalted Butter
150ml Double Cream
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon Chilli Flakes
50g Opies Crystallised Stem Ginger

You will need a tin or baking sheet, covered in greaseproof paper and a sugar/jam thermometer.

Method

- Prepare a tin or a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Place the 140g of a jar of Opies Stem Ginger in Syrup (this equates to half a jar) into a food processor or blender and whizz until it forms a smooth puree.
- Place the caster sugar, dark brown sugar, cream, unsalted butter and salt into the pan with the stem ginger puree and place over a medium heat ensuring you have remembered to pop in your thermometer.
- Give everything a stir as it starts to melt and bring to a boiling point. You are looking to reach a temperature of 120C. This should take 10-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it and don’t be tempted to turn the heat up or the ginger will burn.
- Meanwhile, chop the Opies Crystallised Stem Ginger pieces into small chunks and set to one side. Then measure out your chilli flakes and place with the chopped crystallised ginger.
- Once the toffee mixture has reached the critical 120C take it off the heat and quickly (but very carefully – this is as hot as the sun!) stir in the chilli flakes, then working in a speedy manner, pour onto your prepared tin or baking sheet. Sprinkle the chopped Opies Crystallised Stem Ginger over the top.

Now for the hard bit… You’ll have to wait a couple of hours for it to harden before you can eat it! If you like, you can wait about 10 minutes and score the surface of the hardening toffee to create even squares once hardened. If you prefer a more rustic look, use a toffee hammer to crack it. If you don't have a toffee hammer (who does?) you could use the end of your rolling pin.