Spiced Toffee Sauce

Spiced Toffee Sauce is a dessert sauce made with brown sugar and creamy butter. Use this as a dessert topping for your cheesecakes, pound cakes, or ice cream, or stir it into your favorite drinks. You’ll soon discover that making your own toffee sauce at home is easier than you think. 

*This post was originally published in October 2017. I updated the images and article to make it less horrific.*

What is Spiced Toffee Sauce?

Spiced Toffee Sauce is a dessert sauce with buttery, caramel flavors, which are deepened by the addition of warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. To make the toffee sauce, you stir together brown sugar and melted butter until they form a caramel-like liquid. Then, swirl in warm, heavy cream to create a velvety-smooth sauce. 

This recipe can go over your favorite desserts or add these same flavor profiles to your favorite lattes or iced coffee drinks. 

Where does Toffee Sauce come from?

The recipe for toffee sauce comes from England. Toffee sauce is a main component of the English dessert sticky toffee pudding. This version is a riff on the classic UK recipe. 

Though we call the hard candy here in the States “English Toffee,” it is not from England. I’ll speak about the differences between this sauce and the candy later. 

What do I need to make this Spiced Toffee Sauce?

What do I need to make this Spiced Toffee Sauce?

The ingredients in this recipe are unsalted butter, brown sugar, pumpkin spice blend, a small amount of kosher salt, heavy cream, and vanilla extract.

You need a whisk, skillet, and a container for storing the finished sauce. 

How do I make this “un” Spiced Toffee Sauce?

Not a fan of “spiced” dessert goo? Simply omit the pumpkin spice blend to make this a plain toffee sauce. 

What’s the difference between Caramel and Toffee Sauce?

The biggest difference between caramel and toffee sauce is that caramel begins with white sugar and water and toffee sauce begins with brown sugar and butter. Both recipes are sugar sauces, but one takes longer to prepare (the caramel). 

Begin by melting the butter in a 9-inch skillet over medium heat or 2 minutes. Decrease the temperature to medium-low after the butter melts completely.

Add the brown sugar, pumpkin spice blend, and a pinch of kosher salt to the skillet. You can use dark or light brown sugar to make toffee sauce. Using dark brown sugar will create a darker, more flavorful spiced toffee sauce than using light. 

Should I stir the sauce?

You need to constantly stir the sugar and butter mixture. Because there is a small amount of water in butter, the jagged sugar crystals need help dissolving, or the spiced toffee sauce will be gritty after cooling. A high-heat silicone whisk is the best tool for stirring sugar syrups since their temperature needs to be pretty high to create the sauce. Try to use a whisk that isn’t metal to keep you from burning your hand or being uncomfortable. 

Stir and dissolve the sugar after adding it to the melted butter for 5 1/2 minutes or until it reaches 225°F (110°C) on a candy thermometer. Do your best to incorporate the sugar crystals from the side of the pan into the sauce. A rubber spatula helps to scrape the sides of the skillet completely. You don’t want too many sugar crystals on the sides of your pot, or your toffee sauce will be grainy after cooking.

The sauce will look translucent and muddy, but as you stir and the sugar crystals dissolve, the mixture will look foamy and opaque.

Can I add cold cream to the butter and sugar?

Carefully whisk in warm cream after cooking the toffee sauce for 5 1/2 minutes. Because the toffee sauce is a sugar syrup that reaches just under softball stage, you add the warm cream to maintain its temperature.

Adding cold cream to toffee sauce causes it to seize up, which means you need to cook it longer. Instead, heat the cream to steaming or for 1 minute in the microwave. Now you can add it to the butter-sugar mixture without worrying about it seizing on you. 

BUT! It’s important to remember that the mixture will bubble violently when adding the cream. Be sure to keep your arms and face clear of the skillet as you stir in the cream. 

Whisk the cream and vanilla extract into the butter-sugar mixture in the skillet in a slow, steady stream.

How long do I cook my Spiced Toffee Sauce?

The mixture will go from thick and foamy to thin and slightly clear. After adding the cream, allow the toffee sauce to gently simmer over medium-low heat. 

Continue cooking the sauce for 1 1/2 minutes or until it reaches 235°F (115°C). You don’t have to whisk it constantly once the cream is in there. In fact, I just leave it to do its thing.

To check the consistency of the sauce, if you don’t have a thermometer, scoop up a teaspoon of it and pour it into a glass of ice water. If it solidifies, it’s ready. 

Why isn’t the Spiced Toffee Sauce thick?

Because the sugar is melted, that, coupled with the liquid from the butter and the cream, causes the sauce to be pretty runny just after making it. 

The toffee sauce thickens as it cools. So, have no fear if the sauce is still runny just after you make it. You can see the difference in as little as ten minutes of cooling. The toffee sauce will go from really runny, like milk, to thick, like maple syrup. The texture becomes scoopable as it cools further in the fridge. Toffee sauce is slightly sandy in texture because of the brown sugar, but smooths out when you heat and stir it. 

Carefully pour the toffee sauce into a heat-safe container once it’s done. Before you cover the container, allow the sauce to cool completely. This prevents condensation from dripping down from the lid onto the toffee sauce.  

What’s the difference between English Toffee Sauce and American Toffee?

The difference between toffee sauce and the toffee we eat in the States is that the former is runny, and the latter is hard and crunchy. Often, the toffee candy that we make in the States is breakable. Most of the time, that toffee also contains nuts, though there are some recipes, like Skor bars, that don’t. 

This recipe is for the sauce. I can’t provide a swap for you to make this into candy because it’s more than just a matter of timing. Temperature, additional ingredients, and technique also come into play when making toffee candy. But, I will work on a recipe for it soon. 

What’s the best way to store it?

You can store spiced toffee sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month. Because toffee sauce contains perishable butter and cream, it must be refrigerated. 

How do I use Spiced Toffee Sauce?

Use your toffee sauce to top your favorite desserts or as a stir-in in your favorite warm or iced drinks. Here are a few recipes I use it on/in:

• Classic Cheesecake Recipe
• Cinnamon Cheesecake with Spiced Pear Topping
• Churros
• Copycat Apple Crisp Macchiato from The Hangry Woman

Because the toffee sauce firms up in the fridge, you need to reheat it to make it fluid. Remove the amount you want to eat from the container using a clean spoon. Reheat the toffee sauce in the microwave for 30 seconds on high heat.  Stir the sauce to smooth it out and use it to top whatever. 

It’s important not to reheat the entire container of sauce unless you plan to use it all. The more you heat and cool the sauce, the grittier it becomes. 

Can I freeze it?

You can freeze homemade toffee sauce for 2 months. Before you transfer it to a freezer-safe container, allow the sauce to cool completely. Spoon or pour it into the container and freeze it for up to 2 months. You can thaw frozen toffee sauce in the fridge overnight, then reheat it as needed until smooth.

You’re going to make this Spiced Toffee Sauce all the time once you see how easy it is to make. So, save this recipe to your desserts board so you don’t lose it, and be sure to share it with your friends and family.  

Spiced Toffee Sauce

Marta Rivera at Sense & Edibility

5 from 13 votes

Serve this earthy warm sauce over cheesecake, ice cream, pound cake or stir it into your favorite drinks. 

This is not a recipe for hard toffee candy.

Servings: 16 servings (2 tablespoons per serving)

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Equipment

• 9-inch skillet
• non-metallic whisk (preferred)

Ingredients

  

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• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 170 grams) unsalted butter sliced
• 1 cup, packed (245 grams) light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon (2 grams) Pumpkin Spice Blend
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) heavy cream warmed to steaming
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract optional

Instructions 

Melt the Butter and Dissolve the Sugar

• Melt the butter completely in a 9-inch skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, decrease the temperature to medium-low.

  Add the brown sugar, pumpkin spice blend, and kosher salt to the skillet.
• Constantly stir the sugar and butter mixture, dissolving the sugar, for 5 1/2 minutes or until it reaches 225°F (110°C) on a candy thermometer.

  Do your best to incorporate the sugar crystals from the side of the pan into the sauce. Too many sugar crystals on the sides of your pot will cause your toffee sauce to be grainy after cooking.

  As the sauce cooks it will go from looking translucent and muddy, to looking foamy and opaque.

Carefully Add the Warm Cream

• After cooking the toffee sauce for 5 1/2 minutes, carefully whisk in the warm cream and vanilla extract in the skillet in a slow, steady stream.

  Be sure to keep your arms and face clear of the skillet as you stir in the cream as the mixture will bubble violently when it's added. 
• The mixture will go from thick and foamy to thin and slightly clear.

  After adding the cream, allow the toffee sauce to gently simmer over medium-low heat.  
• Continue cooking the sauce for 1 1/2 minutes or until it reaches 235°F (115°C).

  You don't have to whisk it constantly once the cream is in there, just make sure it doesn't boil (big bubbles violently breaking the surface of the sauce).

Cool, then Serve the Spiced Toffee Sauce

• Carefully pour the toffee sauce into a heat-safe container once it's done.

  Before you cover the container, allow the sauce to cool completely. This prevents condensation from dripping down from the lid onto the toffee sauce. 
• The sauce will still be runny just after you make it. It will cool to a thick maple syrup consistency, then the texture becomes scoopable as it cools further in the fridge.

  Store the Spiced Toffee Sauce, covered, in the fridge for up to 1 month.
• Warm the Toffee Sauce for 30 minutes in the microwave and stir until smooth before serving over desserts or stirring into your favorite drinks.

Notes

Swaps and Substitutions:

• Use salted butter instead of unsalted butter and omit the kosher salt. 
• Replace the light brown sugar with dark brown sugar for a darker toffee sauce.
• Omit the pumpkin spice blend for plain toffee sauce. 
• Replace the vanilla extract with maple extract or cinnamon extract.

Tips and Techniques:

• To check the consistency of the sauce, if you don't have a thermometer, scoop up a teaspoon of it and pour it into a glass of ice water. If it solidifies, it's ready. 
• Toffee sauce thickens as it cools, often in as little as 10 minutes. 
• Toffee sauce is slightly sandy in texture because of the brown sugar, but smooths out when you heat and stir it. 
• The difference between this toffee sauce and the toffee we eat in the States is that the former is runny, and the latter is hard and crunchy.
• Toffee sauce contains perishable butter and cream, so it must be refrigerated.
• Because the toffee sauce firms up in the fridge, you need to reheat it to make it fluid.
• It's important not to reheat the entire container of sauce unless you plan to use it all. The more you heat and cool the sauce, the grittier it becomes. 

Storage and Reheating Instructions:

1. Store spiced toffee sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.
2. Remove the amount you want to eat from the container using a clean spoon.
3. Reheat the toffee sauce in the microwave for 30 seconds on high heat.  Stir the sauce to smooth it out and use it to top whatever. 

Freezer Storage Instructions:

1. Allow the sauce to cool completely.
2. Spoon or pour it into a freezer-safe container and freeze it for up to 2 months.
3. Thaw frozen toffee sauce in the fridge overnight, then reheat it as needed until smooth.

Nutrition

Calories: 162kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 1gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 26mgPotassium: 32mgFiber: 1gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 387IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg

Course Dessert, Drinks

Cuisine British, European

Keyword dessert sauce, drinks, toffee

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