Greenwood Mark - Sweets Made Simple

CHAPTER ONE
FUDGE, CARAMEL AND TOFFEE

CHAPTER TWO
CHOCOLATEY

CHAPTER THREE
FRUITY

CHAPTER FOUR
NUTTY

CHAPTER FIVE
CHEWY

HELLO CHUMS!

It is I, Miss Hope, wearer of unsuitable shoes and wife to the husband of my dreams, the smart-booted Mr Greenwood. Jump inside my splendid cookbook and top-notch treats and stupendous sweets, including all the recipes from my glorious television show. I will swish you away to a world of Buttered Brazils, Nougat Clusters, Black Forest Fudge, English Almond Butter Toffee and Sea Salt Caramels.

Delight in making the sugar confections of your childhood, whip up chocolates for friends and family and learn how easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy it is to make delicious sweets in your own kitchen.

So toss your balloon whisk in the air, polish your thermometer and waggle your heavy-bottomed pan as, hand in hand, we explore the delights of home-made sweets together.

Welcome to sugar heaven.

Growing-up in the north east of England, Miss Hope developed a love of sweets. Her childhood sweet shop was a treasure cave of treats and her student days were fuelled by her favourite confections. Thus it was only a matter of time before Miss H dragged Mr G away from his well-paid job to open two sweet shops of their own in the delightful toon of London. Their shelves heave with traditional fare but Miss H and Mr G have also set about inventing sweets with new flavours for a whole new generation of sweet lovers.

It is I, Miss Hope, top-heavy wearer of unsuitable shoes, and wife to the husband of my dreams (mainly good ones), the smart-booted, walrus-whiskered Mr Greenwood. Together we dish out big sweet-shop hugs and stripy paper bags rustling with the splendid sugar confections of your childhood.

Growing up in the stottie-chomping north-east of England, I developed an intrinsic love of sweets. My childhood sweet shop, Campbells, was a treasure cave of Aladdinesque treats, in more colours than a cupboard stuffed with harem pants. Armed with a big flat copper penny, on Sundays, I looked forward to skipping off to buy liquorice chews and a packet of sarsaparilla tablets (weird).

In my student days in Newcastle I was fortunate to live round the corner from the sweet shop of sweet shops, Cloughs. Its still there today the hub of the community, a meeting place with as much heart as there are sherbet pips.

Thus inspired, it was only a matter of time before I dragged Mr G away from his well-paid job to join me in a whirl of confectionery and sugar. We decided (I decided) to open a sweet shop in the delightful toon of London. Our shelves heave under a medley of traditional fare: apple and custards, sherbet lemons and toffee bonbons, but we have also set about inventing sweets with new flavours for a whole new generation of sweet lovers.

In this splendid book you will discover a plethora of my top-notch treats, all simple enough to make in your own kitchen. Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.

Now, lets begin.

Before we go any further, you ought to know that I am a bit bossy. I expect you to do exactly as you are told, or you will have to stand in the corner until playtime. Isnt that right, Mr Greenwood? So, here we go, first lesson.

PLEASE DO: PAY ATTENTION. When I say use a deep heavy-bottomed pan (4 litres or 56 pints big), which I do quite a lot, you simply must or you will end up with toffee down the front of your apron.

PLEASE DO: REFRAIN FROM EATING HOT TOFFEE. It is really, really hot, it will burn you and you will cry. Dont do it, you crazy person, you.

PLEASE DO: BUY A SUGAR THERMOMETER. I beg you on my knees; it doesnt cost too much and it is the tool for the job.

PLEASE DO: WATCH YOUR POTS BOIL. Dont wander off for a bubble bath or pop into Margerys next door with a pie. Some of the recipes need you to stare at the pan while they cook. If you dont, youre in danger of setting the kitchen alight and it will require a crew of firemen to put it out.

PLEASE DO: MELT CHOCOLATE WITH CARE. Melt it using as little heat as possible, as this will stop it going white when it sets, which looks horrible. Take particular care with white chocolate, which melts in no time at all and can burn very easily. Its best to melt couverture chocolate (see ).

PLEASE DO: USE A WOODEN SPOON WHEN COOKING TOFFEE, FUDGE AND NOUGAT. A plastic spatula will melt like the Wicked Witch of the West.

PLEASE DO: LEAVE THE SCOURING PAD UNDER THE SINK. The best way to wash a pan covered in toffee or fudge is to fill it with water and put it back on the heat. As if by magic, the toffee will just bubble off.

PLEASE DO: MAKE SWEETS FOR YOUR NEIGHBOURS AND FRIENDS. They will be green with envy for your blissful domestic lifestyle.

Sugar is a fickle thing, one minute its all Coo-wee, look at me, lovely golden bubbling sugar in a pan, and the next thing you are flapping at the smoke alarm with a tea towel.

If you have ignored my advice and not bought a sugar thermometer (tut-tut and shame on you), you can use the following techniques to make my recipes without one.

SOFT BALL
113118C (235245F) is used for fudges and fondants.
Drop a little of the syrup into a glass of cold water. Leave it for a couple of minutes then roll it between your fingers; it should form a soft ball.

HARD BALL
118130C (245266F) is used for marshmallows, caramels and nougats.
Drop a little of the syrup into a glass of cold water. Leave it for a couple of minutes then roll it between your fingers, it should form a firm ball, but it should not be rock hard.

SMALL CRACK
132143C (270290F) is used for toffees and boiled sweets.
Drop a little of the syrup into a glass of cold water. It should separate into small pieces, though they should be hard, not brittle.

HARD CRACK
149154C (300310F) is used for really hard toffees.
Drop a little of the syrup into a glass of cold water. It should separate into brittle threads and the mixture should start to turn a golden colour.

If you heat and cool chocolate without controlling the temperature, the crystallisation of cocoa butter will result in crystals of different sizes (bad crystals) forming, and your chocolate will bloom that is to say it will appear matte and covered with white patches. It will also crumble unpleasantly rather than snap. In order to avoid this you will need to temper your chocolate.