4 Ingredient Toffee Apple Jam With Brandy - Larder Love (2024)

I’ll admit it here and now, I still like toffee apples, even at my age. It’s that sweetness mixed with the juicy apple. Now how could I turn that into toffee apple jam? You know me, everything can be made into jam in my book.

Fireworks night, bonfire night, Guy Fawkes! Whatever you want to call it, this is the night of bonfires and fireworks all over the UK. The sky will be alight with flashes of colour, stellar light shows and the sonic booms of over sized party poppers.

We always used to have a bonfire in the garden with my Dad lighting rockets in milk bottles and nailing a Catherine wheel to the wall, where it would sputter and flash, maybe go round a few times and putter out.

The bonfire would be accompanied by sausages (bangers) on rolls with tomato sauce and toffee apples made by Mum for afters.

The toffee apples were my favourite part. The crackly hard almost over-sweet toffee giving way to a juicy apple underneath.

I used to hover around the kitchen like a vulture waiting for those sweet candy apples to cool down and harden up.

Only to be shoo-ed out by Mum and told to wait till the fire was lit and time was right.

Patience has never been my strong suit.

Toffee Apple Jam

In the interests of Larder Love and my fondness for toffee apples I decided that I would transfer this sticky treat into a spreadable goodie that could be kept for later and trapped in a jar.

Yes, you got it, I decided to make it into Toffee Apple Jam!

Toffee apple jam ingredients

This was really just a case of getting together the components of the traditional toffee apple and then going the wrong way about making it. Oh and I added a wee dash of brandy, like you do!

Only 4 ingredients!

I used 750g of Bramley apples (sounds a lot but these guys are big and heavy)

the juice of a lemon

half a kilo of sugar

and 2 tablespoons of brandy.

Apples

You can use any apples you like to make this toffee apple jam. Windfall apples are great for this jam. I used cooking apples which are more bitter, just remember the sweeter the apples the sweeter the toffee apple jam!

How to make Toffee Apple Jam

You peel and core the apples, chop them up and toss them in a bowl with the lemon juice. Then set all this aside while you get on with the toffee bit.

Stir 250g of the sugar with 4 tablespoons of water in a heavy based pan on a low heat till you get it to melt and go golden.

Now toss in the apples and don’t panic when the caramel all clumps up and hardens, it will calm down and soften again when the heat gets going again!

By now the kitchen will be smelling amazing. There is something so comforting about this molten sugar toffee smell.

While we’re on the subject of the sugar now add the rest and stir until it has all dissolved.

Bring to the boil for 10-15 minutes till apples are completely soft. Remove from heat and press it all through a sieve with a wooden spoon – be careful as this stuff is HOT!

Return to the pan and boil again for 1 minute and remove from heat before you stir in the brandy. You’re nearly there now.

I know this seems a bit of a faff but I promise you this toffee apple jam is so worth it. Ladle into sterilised jars and pop on a lid, leave overnight before tasting to let the flavours really develop.

How long will this jam keep?

It will keep for up to a year unopened. Once opened store in the fridge and use within a month.

Serving suggestions

Oh, come on, you don’t need my help on this one.

Serve your toffee apple jam on toast, scones, crumpets or over ice-cream – yum!

You can even serve this toffee apple jam as part of a cheeseboard too.

I loved making this fun jam. It took me back to my childhood. I love making kid stuff we used to love into something more in keeping with our adult selves. Hence my toffee apple jam. It’s just a slightly more grown up version of the real thing.

Happy Bonfire Night!

Looking for some other fun recipes for this time of year? Then check these out;

Treacle Scones

Pumpkin and tomato soup

Spiced Apple Scones

Spooky martini for Halloween

Turnip/swede jam for Halloween

Pumpkin Preserve

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.