Life lately has been pretty sweet… and not just because I made the biggest batch of tablet ever.
If you follow me on Twitter, you probably know that I have a shiny new exciting job. (And that’s on top of lovely things like the Mollie Makes Japan feature, winning an award for my old job and oh yes my mister getting an ace new job too.)
Anyhoo, all that said, what I really want to share with you is how to make Scottish tablet.
Last time I mentioned tablet on this blog I got a mixture of people craving a fix and people being entirely confused as to what on earth I was talking about.
If you don’t know what tablet is, it looks like fudge but is creamier and more crumbly. (And better.)
Oh yes and it’s made with sugar, condensed milk and butter. (I’m not claiming that this is a healthy treat here.)
Tablet was also my Nana’s favourite sweet. One of my last memories of her is us having sweet tea and some tablet together. And for that alone it will always have an extremely special place in my heart.
So how do you make it? Well, first thing first, most people will tell you that it’s super hard to make.
The first time I made it, it was so easy that I was baffled by that. Then I tried to make a second batch, using a different recipe, and it went so badly wrong that it never even set. (Yes, sad times!)
So for the third batch, we went back to this recipe. That bit that says “Remove all children, pets and clumsy people from the room. They tend not to mix well with vats of boiling sugar”? Wise words!
Also don’t accidentally touch the wooden spoon that you’ve just the mixture with. (Yes I did that. Yes I may have said some very bad words. Yes I had a horrible white numb bit on my finger for a week!)
We did change the recipe a bit so here’s what we did:
2lbs granulated sugar
1/4lb butter
1 cup of soy milk (because we never drink normal milk)
400g tin of condensed milk
Two teaspoons of vanilla essence
Melt the sugar, milk and butter together.
Add the condensed milk when that mixture starts to boil.
Then start stirring…
Now once this starts to boil again,
turn down the heat and keep stirring.
And stirring. And stirring.
And oh yes, more stirring.
We stirred this batch for a full-on 20 minutes until it went a yummy caramel colour.
Then you take it off the heat… and guess what?
You stir it some more! (Like the ‘keep swimming’ motto in Finding Nemo but with stirring.)
(Concentrating very hard on the stirring here!
Can you tell I wanted this batch to work?!)
Once the mixture was ready, we poured it – very carefully – into a tray to set. Except that wasn’t enough for me…
Back before our wedding, I’d watched to make tablet hearts for the day. I never got round to it so I was determined to try it now.
So if you want to make shaped tablet…
Basically you have to wait until the mixture has slightly set. If it’s fully set, you won’t be able to cut into it. Ours was just right after watching one episode of New Girl (though you can use your own timing method!).
Tip your now set-ish tablet onto a chopping board, choose your cutter and get making hearts…
It should feel almost doughy – like a grainy, warm play-doh!
Oh yeah and I made some tablet bunnies too. Just because! (Anything bunny shaped always makes me think of Peonies and Polaroids now. I guess in the same way that people see foxes and think of me!)
Next you leave it to set… and then comes the fun bit, trying not to eat it all yourself!
I’d originally meant to make this batch when our friends were over from Norway and my sister was back from London, but yes we left it too late and ended up making it just for us!
So that’s my final tip: wait until you have a reason to make this, or you’ll soon realise you’ve just eaten 1lb granulated sugar, 1/8 butter and 200g of condensed milk in hardly any time at all.
Maybe I need to start blogging healthy, veggie recipes instead?
(I promise I don’t just eat sugar!)
That sounds amazing, I’m a huge fan of fudge so anything fudge related is up my street!! Congrats on the new job to you and your mister too!!
Thanks Emma 🙂 It’s only sort of like fudge… it’s much crumblier and harder (but not like toffee). Quite hard to describe really but it’s good! 🙂
This is fantastic! I am Scottish and also a massive tablet fan! In @boolymardys in Glasgow they give you a hunk with coffee nom nom! xx
@johnandpearl hmm yes a little chunk goes perfectly with coffee (or tea)… or sometimes a large slab of it too! 😉
P.S. Love the skirt you’re wearing!! Is that neon I spy 🙂
Oh and thanks! Yes it is indeed – love a bit of neon!
You’re so cruel to post this at lunchtime!! I demand you make another batch and send me some 🙂 Only kidding. Well sorta only kidding!
Congratulations on the new job and sweet lift lady! xx
Yeah I know, it was scheduled to post last night but decided not to for some reason so I’m blaming the site not me 😉 And thanks! (The lift made me laugh! I wouldn’t mind a lift too!) 🙂
Life! Not lift! (Though if you have a sweet lift too well done!) xx
*slumps over keyboard in happy diabetic coma* MT @Convo_Pieces Life is sweet (or how to make Scottish tablet… : http://t.co/lVPNCzBd
LOVE tablet. Although I’ve never made it before (I always thought it was complicated too!). Guess what I’m buying at lunch… 😉 x
Yes it’s much easier than people make out but it’s quite an intensive/long process that’s the catch! I’m trying not to have any for lunch (there’s still a little bit of it here!) x
Can I admit that I love condensed milk? So this is prob the perfect sweetie for me!! 😀 Sod the healthy stuff I say 😉
Yum! And isn’t that applause speech bubble perfectly placed? Love it.
Sarah Rooftops recently posted..The Week I’ve Had (9th September 2012)
I didn’t even think of that Sarah! I’ll just pretend it was intentional 😀
i am definitely giving this a go–it sounds so good. although i probably will eat it all myself and then end up the size of a house. but hey i am eating for two so its fine…right?!
Lottie recently posted..some little letters
Oh brill Lottie, let me know if you do! (And yes I believe that is the rule!)
mmm-love tablet-especially making it on a cold sunday afternoon. so-it worked with the soy milk then?
great for wee gifts right!
robyn recently posted..Friday
Yes it did! I hadn’t really considered that we’d used it (I’m so used to that being the ‘milk’) and only after I was eating it did it actually occur to me that it was probably meant to be normal milk! I couldn’t tell the difference 🙂
Love it but man its dangerous- sugar I mean! Jxx
Jo @ binds you to me recently posted..Retro China Fix
Wow – I LOVE Scottish tablet
When my friend lived in Edinburgh I even got him to post me some
It is much better than fudge, although I can only endure so much until the sugar intensity gets to me!
I love your timing methods – who needs a clock when there’s Zoe Deschanel?!
B (Make Do and Spend) recently posted..Do: Canoe the Dordogne
My mum is totally addicted to this stuff. I think I’ll make it for her in the near future.. (and keep a bit myself ;))
Iris Vank recently posted..The Yvestown Fair
Oh lordy, haven’t had tablet in years! Although I do seem to remember that I misjudged just how sweet it was – was bouncing off the walls like some E-numbered toddler.
Tonia recently posted.."I must down to the seas again…"
Now, that has made me feel properly nostalgic and I might have to actually make this stuff and cut it into cute shapes as you suggest 🙂
Congratulations on the new job and winning an award at the old job, you clever thing!
Ali x
Alison Cross recently posted..Hestia and the Great Sock Disaster of 2012
I love tablet! this is very well timed far practicing for Hallowe’en. Also I likecyour skirt!
Lisa-Marie recently posted..…rolling with the changes
Tablet is just the best for a 4pm sugar rush (or 9pm.. or 9am for that matter… ahem. And I wonder why I’ve got fillings?!) xx
Congratulations on the job and the award. I must have totally missed that on instagram. Hoorah!
x
Elizabeth @ Rosalilium recently posted..10 Things I Want To Do This Autumn
looks yummy Zoe. Like the styling and photography too.
Geraldine recently posted..Into the woods (Hampstead) for London Design Festival
I’m always too scared of the boiling sugar to make tablet (and the one time I did try it was a completely disastrous sticky, gooey mess which didn’t set!) but I do love it!
domestikate recently posted..Life, lately
I remember my Dutch Grandmother making something similar – we were also told to “hop out the kitchen” whilst she tackled this sweet gooey loveliness… now I can try it too! 😉
mm tablet, I love it, even though it is so unbelievably sweet! my friend Sheila makes it from her aunty mary mac’s recipe. She tried really hard to find a market for it here in London but they just didn’t get it, shame!
I keep forgetting this post. I think that might be for the best as I would east ALL of the tablet!
Siobhan recently posted..Style Me September – Pretty in Pink
I’ve just agreed to make enough tablet for 80 wedding guests in January. Will have to switch arms when stirring if I don’t want to look unsymmetrical in my dress! Glad you found the recipe useful. 🙂 x
Wendy recently posted..This Weekend
Life is sweet… http://t.co/oliDx354