Chocolate Almond Toffee

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

• 200 grams (1 cup) sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• 1 pinch of salt

• 200 grams (7 ounces) bittersweet chocolate

• 150 grams (1 cup) whole almonds

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ºF (175 ºC) and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.

2. Toast 1 cup of almonds on a separate baking sheet in the oven for 8 minutes. They should be fragrant and slightly browned but not burnt. Let the almonds cool and them finely chop them and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, stir together 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, and 1 pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat whisking constantly. Once the butter has melted, increase the temperature to medium-high and cook (still whisking constantly) until the mixture reaches 300 degrees.

4. Immediately, poor the mixture onto the silicone lined baking sheet and spread it out evenly with your spatula. Let the toffee cool completely (about 30 minutes).

5. While the toffee cooling, use a double boiler to melt the chocolate slowly so that it does not burn. Then poor the chocolate over the toffee and spread it out evenly. Then sprinkle the chopped almonds on top.

6. Let the chocolate cool for 2 hours at room temperature (until the chocolate has set). Then break the toffee into your desired size and store in an airtight container until you want to eat it.

Notes

• Yield: ~ 4 cups toffee