Cinder toffee

Method

1. Butter a small shallow tin and line the base with greaseproof paper. Fill the bottom of your sink with cold water.

2. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with 1 ½ tablespoons of water and set aside.

3. Put the sugar, golden syrup, wine/vinegar and water into a large saucepan (it will look as though it's way too big but the mixture will bubble up later on and needs room to expand). Gently heat this mixture until the sugar has dissolved.

4. Turn up the head and boil steadily until it reaches the hard crack point (154C on a sugar thermometer). If you don't have a sugar thermometer then take out a little bit of the hot sugar on a spoon and drop it into a glass of cold water - if the toffee sets to something which can snap when broken then it is ready.

5. When the sugar reaches the right temperature take it off the heat and put the saucepan in the water in the sink - this is to stop it cooking any more. Add the bicarbonate of soda and stir (it's a good idea to wear oven gloves for this - the mixture really bubbles up and is very hot). Pour the toffee straight into the prepared tin. Once it has set break up into chunks.