When is tablet ready

I don't find it makes much difference to the end result, but as you need the sugar to dissolve, caster makes more sense.

Lawrence suggests using golden sugar, which helps with the caramelised flavour. Butter, happily, makes up a relatively small proportion of the ingredients here. I think a certain degree of salt is necessary here to balance the intense sweetness only London Eats wisely specifies adding extra , so I'm not sure it matters at which point you add it.

Not So Humble Pie melts the butter first before adding it to the mixture, which seems unnecessary — just do it in the pan. Saves on washing up. This is where things get interesting. She uses the higher fat content to inhibit over-crystallisation — tablet should be slightly sandy in texture, but stop short of grittiness.

Her version does have a lovely, rich flavour, but on balance I prefer the slightly lighter results of the others — tablet should be sugary, rather than creamy. That's what fudge is for. Condensed milk usually figures, often in combination with the fresh stuff: Maw Broon uses more condensed than fresh, while Lawrence does things the other way around. Controversially, Nairn goes for a combination of hot water and condensed milk, while London Eats swaps evaporated milk for the condensed variety, which gives his tablet a slightly odd boiled milk flavour and crunchy texture.

If you grew up on it, no doubt that's desirable, but I prefer the soft richness of the condensed sort. Nairn's, though utterly delicious, is softer than any tablet I've had before — almost melt in the mouth — while both Broon's and Lawrence's have a more robust texture; the former slightly softer, the latter almost snappable. But it's for a once in a while treat.

Just as long as you don't eat the whole batch! Take a picture and tag somethingsweetsomethingsavoury on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook! I love to see what you've been making! I love scottish tablet but never tried to make it.

I will definitely have to, this looks delicious. I too am a massive lover of tablet and totally want to try this now! It sounds like the one my mum used to make …. Yes it has a ton of sugar. I absolutely love it and make it all the time for my family. I add 2 spoonfuls of syrup as well,Mmmn xx. I sometimes make it with soft dark brown sugar or soft light brown.

I also use a handheld blender instead of a wooden spoon to beat at the end. You know after living in Scotland for more than 20 years I have still never made a proper tablet, I really need to give this a try! Thanks for sharing. What a treat! HI I was wonder IF it is sweetened condensed milk that you use? Or unsweetened evaporated milk? Just been told by my cousin about Scottish Tablet. Never heard of it before! Someone mentioned 2 spoons of Golden Syrup.

Is this 2 teaspoons OR tablespoons please?? Janet, Leeds. Hope you like it! Hope this helps? I doubled the recipe and will be gifting this for Christmas! Loved it! First time making and it turned out great! So glad I took a chance on making it and that I found your easy to follow I instructions. Thank you for the recipe and great tips! Happy New Year!

I made some yesterday it has sat at room temp overnight but it is still not set Going to dump it back in a pot and bring it back to boil and then beat the livin daylights out of it with electric mixer. Wish me luck. I followed recipe as outlined adding peanut butter. And Wilma, u said she left out when to add butter… it was the very first ingredient to melt.

About me Privacy Policy Work with me! Recipe Index. Jump to Recipe. Continue to Content. Ingredients g salted butter 2 lb g - really!

When it's simmering, the mix can be more than twice its original volume, so let's hope you've chosen a big enough pan. You'll notice the mixture darken slightly; keep stirring now and then. It'll take about 20 minutes for the mix to cook. Transfer a little of the hot mix to a teaspoon, and plunge it into cold water.

It should form a soft, sticky ball that should drip off the spoon very slowly. When it does this, it's ready. I'd like to add that the goo on the spoon is very tasty, but be advised that it keeps its heat inside the glob. You can burn your tongue quite remarkably. I like my tablet a light colour, so it's usually done in twenty minutes or less this took 18 from coming to the boil.

If you prefer a stronger flavour, simmer for longer. Now comes the difficult bit. Take the pan off the heat, and start stirring vigorously. Try to mix in some of the crystallized mixture that has formed on the side of the pan; what we're trying to do is to get the mixture to form large enough crystals that it will set, but small enough crystals that it will still pour.

Once you feel the spoon stirring slightly grittily on the base of the pan, and the mixture being slightly stiffer, it's ready to pour. The above is much harder to explain than to do; you'll know it when you feel the change.

Of course, let it set too long or too fast, and you'll end up with a trayful of gritty lumps looking alarmingly similar to a cat box. Quickly pour the mixture into the buttered baking tray, which should be on a heat-resistant surface. Scrape out as much of the mixture as you can, as it will set in the pan to concrete hardness, and someone will just have to eat what's left in there.

Even after the initial hour and a half you will need to restrain yourself and all the family, neighbours and anyone walking by who catches the sweet aroma! Once you get to grips with making Scottish Tablet we promise you that this really will be the hardest part of the entire process! Lots of people start off making fudge and graduate to tablet and we always say if you can make Scottish Tablet then fudge is an absolute doddle.

The basic ingredients for making traditional Scottish Tablet are really simple and the list is short. All you need is Sugar, Milk and Butter. Whether you use Condensed Milk or not the ingredients remain the same. Afterall good quality Condensed Milk only has two ingredients which are Milk and Sugar.

Using condensed milk in the recipe theoretically lowers the risk of the mixture burning and allows you to make it just a little less time. Some Scottish Tablet fundamentalists reckon the use of condensed milk is cheating…others just think its progress.

The long handled spoon will help not only keep your hands away from the intense heat and perhaps save you from the occasional splash but it also stops the spoon from slipping into the depths of boiling tablet.

The candy or sugar thermometer is completely optional. The more you make confectionery the easier it is to judge just how long you want your rolling boil to last. Alternatively if you are a novice then a thermometer works a treat! You could try some of the old school dropping some of the mixture in cold water to ensure it has reached a soft ball stage or in the case of tablet a slightly firmer ball but really a thermometer is so much easier.

In theory it is very simple. I mean what could be more simple than simply popping your ingredients into a pan and boiling them together and then pouring them out into a tray so they can be left to set. The reality as we say can be quite different! Never underestimate just how serious a Scottish Tablet burn can be! We have the scars to prove it.