Tablet, a beloved Scottish sweetie.
I actually decided to try and make tablet for the first time well over a year ago. I’ve made it a number of times since (slightly adapting the recipe each time to try and perfect it). It is fairly straight forward, but can go wrong very easily. I strongly suggest you use kitchen scales for each of the ingredients, do not try and guess the measures (taken from personal experience, and a bin full of ruined tablet).
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1/4 pint of water
- 175g unsalted butter
- 150ml condensed milk
- 500g caster sugar
Making tablet is often thought of as a somewhat laborious procedure. Personally, I think it’s a labour of love, and I don’t mind the time and effort it requires. However, put simply, prepare for sore guns, as you will be stirring for up to 40 minutes. Righty ho, time to give it a bash!
Instructions:
Add ¼ pint of water to a large non stick pot, along with 175g of butter. Keep on a low – med heat and allow the butter to completely melt. Once the butter has melted, add the caster sugar and stir thoroughly until dissolved and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Once simmering, pour in the condensed milk. The mixture will be now be a very light, creamy colour
Now comes the hard bit, stir the mixture. Stir again. And stir some more. It doesn’t have to be rigorous stirring (yet), just pretty constant. Stir for around 20-25 minutes until the mixture thickens, and the colour changes from creamy to a deep caramel. If after 25 minutes the colour hasn’t changed, keep stirring. On a few occasions I’ve stirred for up to 35 mins, just to be sure.
Once the mixture has thickened, and the colour has darkened, remove the pot from the heat and beat the mixture until its very thick. Don’t be fooled if it looks thick-ish, if you pour out whilst it’s even slightly runny, it will turn into hard caramel, and unless you’d like to be gumsy, I’d recommend you avoid this. Once it has completely thickened, pour onto a greaseproof lined baking tray and pat down with a wooden spoon to even out.
I slice the tablet whilst its still hot, but you can wait until its cool if you wish. Leave to set for around 15-20 minutes. Once cooled, pick your piece and relish the sugary goodness.
Enjoy! Oh and kindly do not send me your dentist bills, thanks.
