HALLOWEEN RECIPE: Toffee Apple Martini (Caramel Apple Martini)
 For those too sophisticated for a toffee apple: a toffee apple Martini. Photo courtesy Belvedere. |
Forget about all those ersatz “witch’s brew,” “black cat” and other Halloween cocktails. Here’s a “real” Halloween cocktail: the Toffee Apple Martini. The recipe was developed by Belvedere Vodka.
By the way, today is National Caramel Apple Day, a perfect day to make this cocktail. If you want to make actual caramel apples, here’s the recipe. The difference between candy apples and caramel apples, and caramel apples vs. toffee apples, is below. Ingredients For 1 Drink 1. SHAKE all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled Martini glass. 2. GARNISH with an apple slice. |
|
|
RECIPE #2: HOMEMADE TOFFEE SYRUP Ingredients 1. PLACE a handful of toffee in the bottom of a saucepan and add half a cup of warm water. 2. COOK over gentle heat, stirring until the toffee is dissolved. Allow it to cool. |
||
|
CANDY APPLES VS. CARAMEL APPLES
Caramel apples are the same as toffee apples; the former term is more popular in the U.S., the latter in the U.K. However, caramel candy is different from toffee candy, and the term “toffee apple,” while prevalent, is not accurate. Both caramel and toffee are made by combining sugar, butter, and water. Caramels add milk or cream (and sometimes, flavors) and are cooked at a lower heat, to the firm-ball stage (248°F). Both of these factors make them softer and chewier than toffee. |
 [2] Caramel, above, is soft; toffee is hard (photo © Fannie May). |
|
|
Toffee is cooked to a hard crack (295°F to 310°F). Toffee is harder than caramel and even harder than butterscotch. So if it’s soft, it’s caramel. There are numerous sweets on the market called “toffee” that are actually caramel, including “toffee apples.” If the apple were coated in actual toffee, it would be even harder to bite into than the hard red candy apple coating. |
||
