How to Make Authentic British Bonfire Toffee

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Reignite a fundamental British tradition with this authentic bonfire toffee recipe! This wonderful treat that has been enjoyed for centuries, can can very easily be recreated in your own home. Share some with loved ones at your next Bonfire Night celebrations!

A white bowl filled with wrapped bonfire toffee sweets.

Why you’ll love this recipe

I call it Bonfire Night, others call it Guy Fawkes Night or Fireworks Night. Whatever you know it as, it’s an evening that celebrates the survival of parliament during the gunpowder plot. And I’ve enjoyed it since I was a little girl!

Bonfire toffee was a treat I remember my Uncle making me many years ago. It has such a specific warming and nostalgic flavour. It’s really something you need to try for yourself to full appreciate!

Other Bonfire Night recipes you might like

While there’s always the traditional mushy peas with mint sauce, or roasted chestnuts – there’s plenty of other bonfire night recipes you can try too! Try these Bonfire cupcakes or firework cookies! And chocolate cinder toffee is a treat that never disappoints!

Two unwrapped pieces of traditional bonfire toffee with red and orange leaves at the side.

Ingredients

Confused about what ingredients to buy? Not sure about a substitution? Here’s everything you might need to know…

Golden Syrup – Golden syrup has a very unique flavour, I don’t recommend substituting it. If you’re based in the US, light corn syrup comes close, but the flavour isn’t the same. In a pinch, you could swap it for a runny honey.
Treacle – Black treacle is what gives bonfire toffee it’s unique flavour. Do NOT substitute this for anything else!
Sugar – I use light brown sugar, but you could switch it out for a dark brown sugar or muscovado. Caster sugar would work, but I’d stick to brown if you can.
Butter – I recommend using unsalted, but salted will work if that’s all you have.
Cream of Tartar – This acts as a stabiliser and stops the sugar from crystallising. Essentially, it makes your life easier. Try not to leave this out if you want things to go smoothly.

Emma’s top tips

Here are tips you’ll find helpful when making bonfire toffee.

Use a sugar thermometer. They’re really cheap, and it removes all the guesswork and headaches!
Don’t walk away. Sugar can get very hot VERY quickly. It’s not something to be left unattended.
Bonfire toffee is very sticky! Make sure you oil your knife before scoring it, as this will help tremendously.
Don’t worry if you forget to score it before it fully sets. You can simply smash it instead! It’s why toffee gift sets often come with toffee hammers (affiliate link).
Make easy work of cleaning that sticky pan by pouring hot water in it, and simmering until all the toffee has melted into the water. (I’d keep your thermometer and any other utensils you used in there too!)

Two unwrapped pieces of traditional bonfire toffee with wrapped pieces in a white bowl to the side.

Timings

Have limited time? Struggle with recipe timings? Or juggling around other things? Here’s some time managing info to make your life easier!

Weighing the ingredients into your saucepan will take you less than 5 minutes.
Bringing the toffee to the boil will take up to 10 minutes.
Once boiling, it should take around 5-10 minutes to bring it up to the right temperature.
You then need to allow 20 minutes cooling time.
Scoring the toffee should only take about 2 minutes.
You then need to allow time for it to cool completely. Which should take somewhere around 30-40 minutes.

Bonfire Toffee – Step by Step Picture Recipe

(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)

Please note, this recipe includes both UK metric and US Cup measurements.

Here is what you will need to make approx 24 pieces.

Ingredients

75g (1/3 Cup) Golden Syrup
75g (1/3 Cup) Black Treacle
150g (3/4 Cup) Light Soft Brown Sugar
75g (1/3 Cup) Unsalted Butter, cubed
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar

Essential Equipment

11 x 21cm (4 1/2 x 8″) Loaf Tin
Large Non Stick Saucepan
Sugar Thermometer
Baking Paper for Wrapping

Instructions

First, line your loaf tin with baking paper and set to one side.

Next, place all your ingredients into a large non stick saucepan and place over a medium heat. (75g | 1/3 Cup golden syrup, 75g | 1/3 Cup black treacle, 150g | 3/4 Cup light soft brown sugar, 75g | 1/3 Cup unsalted butter, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar.)

Golden syrup, treacle, sugar, butter and cream of tartar in a large saucepan on the hob.

Stir occasionally, until the butter and sugar have dissolved, then bring it to the boil and pop your thermometer into the pan.

Toffee mixture boiling in a large saucepan over a gas stove.

Keeping a close eye on it, bring the mixture to a fast rolling boil, and allow to bubble away until it reaches 140°C/285°F. (This is somewhere between the soft and hard crack stages.)

Boiling toffee syrup in a saucepan being measured with a thermometer.

As soon as the temperature is reached, immediately (and carefully – this is hot!) pour the toffee into your prepared tin.

Bonfire toffee poured into a lined loaf tin.

Then allow your bonfire toffee to cool for 20 minutes, until it’s cool enough to handle, and you can press your finger in and it will leave a slight dent.

Then, oil a sharp knife, and score lines half way through the toffee. (Not all the way through.) The toffee will break along these lines quite easily once it’s cooled completely.

Scored bonfire toffee in a lined loaf tin, with a sharp knife and oil next to it.

Once the toffee is completely cool, snap along the lines into individual sweets. If you like you can make your own wrappers by cutting out 10 x 12cm (approx) pieces of baking paper. Fold round each sweet then twist the ends to seal.

Wrapped and unwrapped bonfire toffee sweets surrounded by red and orange leaves.

How to store bonfire toffee

Store at room temperature in an airtight container if it’s fairly cool (Winter) or keep in the fridge if it’s warm (Summer). If you haven’t individually wrapped your Bonfire Toffee, make sure you store it between sheets of baking paper so they don’t stick together. Consume within 3-4 weeks.

FAQs

Why do you put cream of tartar in toffee?

Sugar is a fickle creature and often doesn’t do what you want it to when introduced to heat. To avoid crystallising, add cream of tartar. It acts as a stabiliser which prevents that from happening.

Why if my bonfire toffee soft?

You likely didn’t bring it up to the correct temperature. Make sure you use a thermometer to ensure accuracy, and bring it to 140°C/285°F before leaving it to set.

How to make bonfire toffee hard?

Make sure you bring it up to the correct temperature (140°C/285°F) and add cream of tartar to avoid crystallisation and other textural issues.

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A white bowl filled with wrapped bonfire toffee sweets. Two unwrapped bonfire toffees and red orange leaves are to the side of it. A text overlay says "Traditional Bonfire Toffee".