What Is Toffee?

How many times have you gone into a toffee shop to buy some toffee, only to discover that it was actually a coffee shop? No one? Not once? Well, sorry, I never went to coffee school or learned how to read. Unfortunately, coffee is much more prevalent than coffee. I’d much rather have a bite of sweet and crunchy toffee to get my morning going. Toffee is an old fashioned candy, but it’s never gone out of style. But what is toffee, exactly? What is toffee made of? What does toffee taste like? Let’s talk about toffee!

What is toffee?

Toffee is a sweet treat that can be enjoyed on its own, used in a dessert, or included in a candy. But, what is toffee, precisely? The answer to that question may depend on who you ask. If you ask a British person, they would probably tell you that toffee is an English confection made by heating sugar in butter until it caramelizes then pouring it onto a cool surface. American toffee may have more added to it than classic English coffee. American toffee sometimes includes chocolate or nuts.

What does toffee taste like?

Toffee usually has a brittle texture and depending on the recipe can have a chewy or crunchy mouthfeel. It tastes a lot like caramel—very buttery, rich, and a bit like burnt sugar. 

What is toffee made of?

What is in toffee? Toffee is a pretty simple recipe (especially if you’re going by English toffee standards). It consists of sugar and butter. Those are two of my favorite things! In some recipes you may see molasses. 

You slowly melt the sugar into the butter and stir it consistently until it turns into a caramel-like consistency. Then you pour that out onto a hard surface and the goo solidifies into toffee. You can find that concoction at sweet shops under the name English Toffee. As mentioned above, American style toffee may have some chocolate thrown into the mix or incorporate nuts like almonds or walnuts. 

Some of you may have looked at that toffee recipe and thought that it is awfully similar to caramel. Well, you’re right! But caramel usually is made with both white and brown sugar. It is also heated to a different temperature so that it achieves a gooier consistency.

Does toffee contain nuts? What is toffee nut?

English toffee doesn’t contain nuts. But some American toffees out there will throw some nuts into their recipe. Starbucks and other coffee shops kind of confused things a while back by having a flavor called “toffee nut,” which tastes a bit like caramel and hazelnuts. The toffee nut syrup at Starbucks does not actually contain any nuts. But if you have an allergy, be sure to ask to make sure.