Victorious dahlias and vanilla almond toffee
Do you like a bit of gentle competition? I do. It brings a little frisson of tension to an endeavour and can encourage me to to do better. And it’s fun too – especially for the winner! A neighbour in our village grows the most glorious dahlias, blooms that steal the ‘Best in show’ prizes across the village and county fairs. At this time of year, I love to walk through the smallholding where he painstakingly nurtures an astonishing variety of these lovely flowers, and sometimes I am given a few to bring home.
I also entered a little competition this week. Vanessa Kimbell, warm-hearted foodie extraordinaire, together with Fortnum and Mason, Ndali Vanilla and the fabulous Faritrade association, hosted a contest and food gift exchange for food writers, bloggers, and like minded souls.
I wanted to tell you this at the end, but I can’t hold back – I won! My winning offering was this Almond Butter Toffee, dusted with Ndali Vanilla and flakes of sea salt. The recipe is below.
Fairtrade is all about helping farmers and growers, particularly in vulnerable parts of the world, achieve fair prices and wages for their products and labours. I’ve learned quite a lot about this from my young son as his school encourages Fairtrade education projects. The farmers who produce Ndali Vanilla in Uganda are able to send their children to school and feed their families because they receive a fair price for their crop. Fairtrade makes a world of difference to people’s lives and I am keen to support it – if you would like to learn more, take a look at their website. My friend Vanessa, through her connection with Ndali, is a wonderful ambassador for Fairtrade and she organised the gift swap to raise awareness and support.
The competition had four categories: confectionary, biscuits, cakes and preserves. Food writer Lucas Hollweg, Chantal Coady of Rococo Chocolates, and a couple of the Fortnum and Mason buying team judged the entries. I gulped when I saw that Chantal was judging the sweets – if anyone knows about chocolate and aromatics in sweeties it’s Chantal, and I’m certain she must be hard to impress. By the way, her new book – Rococo, Mastering the Art of Chocolate – is due out on the shelves very soon. I had a sneak preview and it is extraordinarily beautiful. I can’t wait to get my own copy.
So here it is, the winning recipe!
Almond Butter Toffee with Chocolate, Vanilla and Sea Salt
Now before you start, there are a few things to note about making this toffee. Even though it is quite a simple recipe, working with sugar can be a bit tricky. It’s science and artistry all wrapped up together! It is best to use a candy thermometer to ensure you have the caramel to the right stage. Not hot enough – the result will be too soft, too high – you will burn the sugar. Make sure you use good cane sugar (ideally Fairtrade!) as it makes all the difference to the end result. Also, get everything ready before you start. Have hot gloves to hand and keep the decks clear and tidy. Hot bubbling caramel deserves your full attention and respect!
For the toffee:
280g butter, unsalted
225g caster sugar
100g light brown muscovado sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
45ml water
200g almonds, roughly chopped
For the covering:
350g milk chocolate – choose a good rich flavoured one – broken into small squares
150g almonds, toasted and coarsely ground
1 teaspoon Ndali vanilla powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
Line a large baking tray (with sides) with baking paper.
In a heavy medium pan, melt together the butter, sugars, salt, and water. When the sugar is dissolved, allow the mixture to boil over medium heat, stirring often, until a rich golden caramel develops and the temperature reaches 290 degrees. I use F as that is what is on my thermometer. This will take longer than you expect, about 15 minutes. Add the chopped almonds and stir them in, then allow the temperature to come back up to 290-300 degrees. Remove from heat and pour right away into the lined baking sheet.
Give it a few moments to cool, then dot the toffee with half of the chocolate bits. As it melts, spread it over to cover the toffee. Sprinkle with the ground roasted almonds, sea salt flakes, and the vanilla powder. Allow to cool completely. Melt the remaining chocolate. Turn the toffee over and cover the other side with melted chocolate, almonds, sea salt and vanilla powder. Again, leave to cool completely. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.
So, would you like to know what I won? Well, I can hardly believe it myself. I won a beautiful stand mixer from Kenwood. (much desired). I also won a lovely hand mixer from Kenwood for second prize in the biscuit category – my Pecan and Vanilla Butter Biscuits. And the fabulous prize from Fortnum and Mason, a magnificent hamper. I am so delighted, these are prizes I will treasure and truly appreciate.
Some of you might know that we are fixing up (and living in) a rustic old sixties house. I’ve come to really appreciate Midcentury style and these dahlias have just the esthetic of that era, don’t you think? I’ve placed a vase of them on my old Danish G-Plan table for you to see.
Thanks for visiting. More soon. Px
