The
Best of British has moved from Cornwall to
Scotland and I've unintentionally made a recipe that segues nicely from one to the other! The first thing that came to mind was Scottish shortbread but I wanted to make something a little different. I decided to do some market research by asking all the Scots I knew to tell me what treats they enjoyed whilst growing up. Quite a few of them said Scottish tablet. Please excuse my ignorance but I've never heard of it before so I decided that's what I would make. I've been told it can be tricky to make but it wasn't going to stop me trying! I did some research on the internet for recipes and there were quite a few variations mainly around using water or milk and different ingredient proportions. If anyone would like to share their Scottish tablet recipe with me, I would love to make this again properly!
The result - according to my Scottish taste testers - it tastes exactly like tablet but was soft and squidgy like a Cornish fudge. Hmm... I'm not sure what the problem was but I didn't have time to make another batch. Plus these are seriously SWEET and don't even ask how many calories there are in these! I had to check the ingredients list a few times just to be sure and yes the amount listed below is correct!
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| Ingredients required: 250g butter, 500g sugar (yes the whole pack!!), 1 tin of condensed milk and a vanilla pod (optional) |
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| Use a large pot and place all the sugar plus 1/4 cup of water and heat gently. |
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| Stir in the butter (cut into cubes) and then the condensed milk |
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| Stir continuously and boil until it reaches the soft ball stage ~240F. Lower the heat and continue stirring until the mixture darkens (this is probably where I got it wrong!). Remove from the heat and continue stirring until it thickens. Add in the vanilla bean here if using. |
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| Pour into a tray and leave to set |
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| Break or in my case slice into pieces. It's supposed to have a grainy texture but should look much darker and firmer than this! |
There are lots of recipes and videos available on the internet for reference.
GOOD try and if it was like fudge and tasty, then that's GOOD! Scottish Tablet is VERY tricky to make, to get that crumbly texture and you were VERY brave to make it, so well done you! A GREAT entry for Best of British!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen! I'm glad I tried it and I was told it tasted like tablet so I'm happy :) need to work on the texture.
DeleteI've never heard of Scottish tablet either...your version sounds delicious though and you can't go wrong with copious amounts of butter, sugar and condensed milk! What is the texture supposed to be like?
ReplyDeleteSee Janice's comment below regarding the taste. Apparently its hard to describe if you've never had it before. Yes, with that ingredient list the outcome is bound to be delicious!
DeleteThank you so much for entering Best of British with such an iconic Scottish sweet! I think you have made it very well, it looks nice and smooth, probably needed a little bit more boiling which would improve the set and darken the colour a little. You then have to beat the hell out of it! I am no expert but that is what my mother used to do!
ReplyDeleteTablet should have a slight 'bite' to it and then totally dissolve in your mouth
Good luck with the prize draw.
I'm glad you like it Janice - I tried my best! Will have to try it again with your tips and see what happens!
DeleteI mist enter these one time. This looks fab!
ReplyDeleteNom!
The competition runs for 6 months and this is only month 2 so plenty of time!
DeleteI lived in Scotland for a year, it was not a happy time! I was pretty much hated for being English and I'm not even joking! I would be sat in tutorials where everyone including the tutor would be talking about how much they hated English people...so I stayed very quiet in that class!! if only I'd have discovered tablet...it might have made that year more bearable! because this sounds seriously tasty!
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine you keeping very quiet ;-) If you like sweet things you will definitely love tablet. I can't believe you spent a year there without coming across tablet.
DeleteThese scottish tablets make me drool! really!!
ReplyDeleteI wanna ask you any person can partocopate in this challenge??
Yes anyone can participate. Click on the links above for more information. Glad you like my tablet :)
DeleteI love tablet! But only make it under my mum's supervision! hehe. Like Janice says it should have a bit of a bite, and a melt in the mouth crumble texture. I use syrup instead of condensed milk in my recipe and only stir it until the sugar has completely melted and then leave it alone to bubble. It'll settle back down into the pot and darken and when it's at soft ball stage you take it off the heat and beat like crazy! Then I let mum take over as she seems to know when it's ready to set and pour into the tray. A really good batch should set with a lovely shiny top. One day I'll learn to do all by myself!
ReplyDeleteOne day I'll learn too ... I hope!At least it tasted like the real thing :)
DeleteOh well done for giving this a go. I used to love tablet, but haven't had it for years. It's definitely not soft and squidgy though - it was the hard texture that I particularly liked.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I was disappointed that I didn't get the texture right but it was my first try and I didn't have anything to compare it to as I've never tried it myself. Try and try again :)
DeleteI've never heard of this, but you have made me curious to try it. It sounds like a sweet lover's paradise. Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a sweet lover's paradise. I hope you give it a try :)
DeleteWOW, I've never heard of this too, surely I will try making it :D It looks amazing, I wish I could have a bite :p
ReplyDeleteXXX
Loly
you are welcome to visit my blog :)
http://abudhabifood.blogspot.com
Thanks! I hope yours turns out better than mine!
DeleteThanks for the reminder - I haven't thought about this little treat for many years. I knew a lady from Glasgow once upon a time who made this. She told me it was tricky to make and so I never tried. I reckon yours looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil. I'm quite proud of my first attempt - I'll have to get some real Scottish tablet to try so I'll have a point of reference!
Deletelooks great. I love tablet!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great entry for the Scottish theme of Best of British. I loved Scottish tablet growing up because it was so incredibly sweet. You have great courage to attempt the recipe. Thanks for the memories :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I love how certain foods invoke good memories :)
Deleteive made some tablet but it wont set its still runny how can i make it set
ReplyDeleteI'm not too sure myself as mine didn't set properly either! Janice above has said that it may need more boiling and vigorous beating - hope that helps.
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