Caramel Spirals and Toffee Shards

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I received a few email queries last night, two of which I'm answering today. The first from Karen of Pascoe Vale Victoria asking if was there any way to make mini toffee or caramel spirals without having to make the toffee. 

Yes, you can Karen by using purchased candy. Using the same method as the fruit chews post, place an unwrapped chewable toffee or caramel on a microwave safe plate and zap on low for ten seconds. You can then pull pieces off the toffee & with even movement wrap it around an oiled toothpick or oiled skewer. 

toffee wrapped around a toothpick

Let each spiral sit for a minute and then gently slide off your toothpick, lay the finished spirals on a non-stick surface. You may need to reheat your toffee, just give it a couple seconds at a time.

One toffee will make 36 spirals on tooth picks. Unlike the fruit chews, these only keep for a couple of hours in a covered container, make them shortly before you need them for the best result.

The second email is from 'sweetsuccess', who asked about how to make toffee shards for cupcakes.

These are easy sweetsuccess & look impressive, you'll need...

1 cup of *castor sugar

1/2 cup of water

1. Brush a baking tray with oil & line with non-stick baking paper. Place sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Boil, without stirring, brushing down the side of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water, for 12 minutes or until golden. Set aside until the bubbles subside.

2. Use an oven mitt to hold the lined tray. Carefully pour over the toffee. Holding the baking paper securely in place on the tray, carefully tilt the tray to evenly coat. Set aside for 10 minutes or until set. Break into shards.

break into shards

Ooops, I used a silpat to make the shards on; whilst perfect for making toffee for praline, not so good for shards as you can see the imprint of the silpat weave on the shard. A baking tray lined with a smooth silicone baking mat solves that or you can use baking paper though watch out for coated papers as they can leave "a film" on your shards.

imprint on shards

You don't want to break anyone's teeth so keep your shards thin!

thin shards

Wearing oiled plastic gloves prevents fingerprinting when handling the shards. Shards keep for 3-4 hours with low humidity, 1-2 hours in a humid climate so it's best make them close to serving time, place shards into your frosted cupcakes just before serving.

*castor sugar can be replaced with granulated sugar, just make sure the sugar is all dissolved before toffee comes to the boil.

Thanks for the great questions :)

You might also be interested in:

How to clean toffee out of your pot.

and there is also "Sugar Bark" for those that want a shard effect with less effort

Sugar Bark