{"id":12882,"date":"2019-06-16T14:05:18","date_gmt":"2019-06-16T21:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/?p=12882"},"modified":"2024-02-19T12:18:25","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T20:18:25","slug":"tasty-toffees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/tasty-toffees\/","title":{"rendered":"Tasty toffees"},"content":{"rendered":"

In addition to checking out TasteTV\u2019s 2019 White Chocolate Awards<\/a> competition, I was a judge for their\u00a02019 Toffee Awards competition<\/a>\u00a0in May. I\u00a0judged 25 entries this time, and I loved 7 of them, liked 10, and suffered the rest.<\/p>\n

Interesting to me was that my like\/love ratio on toffees was a reverse of the one on white chocolate, which is part of me rethinking my hatred of white chocolate. And since 2 of the toffees I loved in this competition were white chocolate, I pretty much have to stop saying I hate the white stuff.<\/p>\n

Also, like the other competition, the SFBA competitors submitted some of my fav entries. So I am definitely gonna talk about them first.<\/p>\n

\"Heavenly
Heavenly Taste Toffees in their new packaging<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Toffee done right<\/h2>\n

Heavenly Taste Toffee,<\/strong> an SFBA toffee maker now located in Oakland, submitted 3 entries. I loved 2, and liked the other.<\/p>\n

Their classic Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee<\/strong> was one of my favs. I like that Heavenly Taste coats both sides of their toffee with chocolate since I\u2019m more of a chocolate fan than a candy fan. They are also generous with the nuts, with big pieces of almond inside the toffee, plus a fine dusting on top.<\/p>\n

This toffee was as advertised, with a strong chocolate\/almond flavor. The toffee itself was good, crunchy, not chewy and not too hard. The liberal amount of dark chocolate and almonds also made for a not-too-sweet toffee.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Taste Toffee\u2019s Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee received Gold for Best Texture, Silver for\u00a0Best Ingredient Combinations, Bronze for Top Toffee, and rated 4 out of 5 stars.<\/p>\n

The other Heavenly Taste Toffee I loved was the White Chocolate Cherry Pistachio Toffee.<\/strong> It\u2019s funny, Matt has offered us a taste of this toffee before at the\u00a0Chocolate Salon<\/a>, and I turned him down because \u2014 white chocolate. Now, I want to say how wrong I was.<\/p>\n

The toffee was attractive, with whole dried cherries and chunks of green pistachio sprinkled on the white chocolate. And it\u2019s a good white chocolate, the toffee is\u00a0buttery with good mouthfeel and not too sweet. The chewy cherries are a nice fruity touch that again isn\u2019t too sweet; and unlike a lot of pistachio chocolates, you can actually taste the pistachio because of the mild chocolate. As with the Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee, this toffee has a good texture, not chewy or hard.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Taste Toffee\u2019s White Chocolate Cherry Pistachio Toffee received Gold for Most Unique,\u00a0Silver for Best Texture, Honorable Mention for Top Toffee, and rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n

Their 3rd entry, the Black & White Toffee,<\/strong> was nice, but not awesome like the other 2. The toffee was a little chewy, and the combination of dark chocolate and white chocolate didn\u2019t work together like the other combos. Instead, it seemed to be more about the contrast between the 2, which I guess is the point.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Taste Toffee\u2019s Black & White Toffee received Honorable Mention for Top Toffee and rated 3.5 stars.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Taste Toffee is available online, at special events and local markets. Check their website.<\/p>\n

\"Tomo
Tomo Toffee\u2019s package is simple, but cute, and displays the toffee inside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Better than classic<\/h2>\n

The other local toffee I loved was from Tomo Toffee<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0based in San Ramon. Their Dark Chocolate Toffee<\/strong> is a classic perfected, starting with the distinct chocolate\u00a0aroma when you open the package.<\/p>\n

The toffee itself is a Southern inspired masterpiece using pecans for the nuts. And it has chopped pecans all the way through, so you can taste that it\u2019s not just nutty, but distinctly pecan.\u00a0It\u2019s also very chocolatey and not too sweet. Finally,\u00a0the toffee is buttery, crunchy, and dissolves cleanly.<\/p>\n

Tomo Toffee\u2019s Dark Chocolate Toffee received Gold for\u00a0Best Taste,\u00a0Best Texture, and Top Toffee, and was the only entrant to receive the highest star rating (4.5).<\/p>\n

Tomo Toffee is available via their website, at special events, and at some local stores. Check their website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Holm
Those are windows on the Holm Made Toffee packages displaying the actual toffee inside, not photos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Distinctive toffees<\/h2>\n

I loved all 3 entries by\u00a0Holm Made Toffee Co.<\/a>, a Bend, OR, toffee maker. Their packaging is attractive, with the toffee visible inside enticing you to try it.<\/p>\n

One of their distinctions is that they use hazelnuts, specifically Oregon hazelnuts, in their toffees. Hazelnut and chocolate are a classic pairing, from high-end European truffles to kid-approved Nutella. Of course, they make a great choice for the nut in toffee.<\/p>\n

The Holm Made Himalayan Pink Salt Toffee<\/strong> was a simple, classic toffee. The pieces were thick, but not too large, with lots of roasted hazelnuts and just the right amount of salt to heighten the flavors, but not make the pieces salty. Like Heavenly Taste, they coat both sides of the toffee with chocolate, so that\u2019s always a plus with me. You can taste that they use quality ingredients, no odd\/off flavors, and they know their candy-making techniques \u2014 pieces were crunchy, easy to chew and didn\u2019t stick to my teeth, and the toffee wasn\u2019t greasy or overly sweet.<\/p>\n

Holm Made Toffee Co.\u2019s Himalayan Pink Salt Toffee receive Gold for\u00a0Best Ingredient Combinations; Silver for Best Texture and Top Toffee; Bronze for\u00a0Best Ingredient Combinations and Best Taste; and rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n

The Holm Made Cardamom & Vanilla Toffee<\/strong> was an interesting toffee that reminded me a little of a sweet chai tea drink \u2014 with nuts and chocolate added, so \u2014 bonus. \u00a0It was\u00a0very good toffee with a balanced, subtle flavor that started out buttery; the cardamom came in toward the end.<\/p>\n

Holm Made Toffee Co.\u2019s Cardamom & Vanilla Toffee receive Gold\u00a0for Best Texture, Silver for Top Toffee, Bronze for Best Taste, and rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n

I approached the Holm Made Lavender Toffee<\/strong> with some dread because a little floral goes a long way with me, and I thought it might taste soapy. But like the rest of their toffees, this was a balanced, subtle piece. Lots of chocolate and nuts on\u00a0thick toffee that chewed easily and tasted lightly lavender. The lavender taste was distinct but not soapy, and the tastes were balanced.<\/p>\n

Holm Made Toffee Co.\u2019s Lavender Toffee received Gold\u00a0for Best Texture; Silver for Top Toffee; Bronze for\u00a0Best Ingredient Combinations, Best Taste, and Most Unique; and rated 3 stars.<\/p>\n

\"Crack\u2019dToffee
Crack\u2019d Toffee Company Box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another white chocolate winner<\/h2>\n

There were 3 white chocolate toffees in this year\u2019s competition, and I enjoyed them all. And while\u00a0Crack\u2019d Toffee Company<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0White Chocolate Toffee<\/strong>\u00a0didn\u2019t get a lot of love at the competition, I loved it.<\/p>\n

Like Heavenly Taste\u2019s 2 white chocolate toffee entries, Crack\u2019d Toffee Company\u2019s White Chocolate Toffee\u00a0was\u00a0buttery and not too sweet. It started out crunchy, then became a little chewy, but it didn\u2019t stick to my teeth. It had strong\u00a0vanilla notes, and was surprisingly a little\u00a0salty, which I think helped keep it from being too sweet.<\/p>\n

Crack\u2019d Toffee Company\u2019s\u00a0White Chocolate Toffee rated 3 stars.<\/p>\n

Others worth mentioning<\/h2>\n

In addition to the entries described above, there were quite a few decent toffees in the competition as well:<\/p>\n