How to Spin Toffee

Spun toffee is basically very fine strands or filaments of toffee or caramel that have hardened as they come in contact with air.

The spun toffee is achieved by making caramel or toffee to the hard crack stage, then, using the tines of 1 or 2 forks, or a ball whisk you’ve cut the end off, dipped into the thick but still hot toffee, begin to flick it over skewers or chop sticks or similar that have been elevated off the bench. As the flicked toffee hardens it forms fine toffee filaments, much like fairy floss (cotton candy) that can be used to decorate confectionery and desserts.

It’s not difficult to do, but can be fiddly and messy, so make sure you have space to do it and the patience, the results are well worth it.

To spin toffee you’ll need to elevate the spun threads off the bench you’re working on. Anything will work just as long as the spun strands having something to hang over.

You’ll need a tool to gather several filaments of the toffee. You can put two forks back to back and use the tines to drag the filaments, although I find this fiddly and difficult to handle, or you can make a toffee spinning tool by cutting off the end of a ball whisk.

Make sure your toffee has cooled a little, the bubbles have died down and it’s become a little viscous.

Now to spin the toffee, just dip the end of your ball whisk or fork tines into the toffee and begin to flick the toffee over the chop sticks or whatever you’re using so that it begins to form fine filaments as it hardens on contact with the air.

This exercise will make a bit of a mess, so make sure you’ve got space where you can do this and it’s easy to clean up afterwards.

Now just gather up your filaments and put them to one side and start again.

Continue till you have all you need or you use up all of the toffee.