How to prevent toffee from separating
It’s happened to me, and maybe it’s happened to you, your toffee is almost done cooking and the butter separates from the rest of the ingredients. So frustrating! Here are some tips to prevent it from happening again:
- Don’t change the heat suddenly, hot or cold. Try to keep the temperature even during the whole cooking process.
- Make sure to follow the instructions and stir as often as indicated to keep the mixture together.
- Try to use a heavy bottomed pan that will distribute the heat evenly.
If your toffee separates, there still is hope! Remove it from the heat and stir constantly until the mixture comes back together, and then gradually return it to the heat while continuing to stir. You can also add a tablespoon or two of very hot water and whisk it into the toffee to try to get it back together.
If the toffee separates after you’ve poured it out of the pan, it is unfortunately passed the point of saving.
I had two recipes of toffee fail today. I’m using an iron skillet but wonder if my temp was too low. It seemed to cook a lot longer than when I made it on my sisters gas stove. What temp setting should I set it at on an electric range? I did stir constantly but I was afraid it would burn so I turned it down a little.
i have made the same recipe for years, and this year ive tried 3 times, and toffee separated every time. I have done everything I know to keep this from happening, but to no avail. Cant figure it out!!!!!
I distractedly started making toffee this evening for my neighborhood-known chocolate chip cookies. And as I came back to the stove I was horrified to find the mixture had broken! Your site was the first I came across as I looked for ways to repair my work, and thankfully adding boiling water (and lots of stirring) brought things back together. Thank you for the advice!