Confession time… I’m a sugar addict. It will be of no surprise to those around me to be fair! From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed, I’m looking for my next sugar hit. It’s certainly not ideal but growing up in Scotland with sweet treats like Scottish Tablet, it’s really unavoidable.
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A couple of weeks ago I came across a wee image on Facebook that made me laugh. It compared candy floss, syrup and sugar to Scottish tablet, with tablet coming out tops in the sweetness stakes. Probably a pretty accurate comparison to be fair!
Scottish tablet in theory is quite easy to make but it does take a bit of skill to get just right. I would always recommend a sugar thermometer
Scottish Tablet
Ingredients
- 900 g Caster Sugar
- 250 ml Full Fat Milk
- 110 g Butter
- 1 379g Tin of Condensed Milk
Instructions
- Place the sugar and milk in a large pan over a gentle heat. Stir occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved. Pre-grease a 13x9 inch tray
with a generous amount of butter and set aside.
- Once all the sugar has dissolved add the butter and allow to melt.
- When the butter has melted, add the condensed milk and mix well. Increase the heat and stir continuously while the mixture boils and reaches Soft-Ball stage (120°c) on your thermometer.
- Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to settle a little before beating. Beat with a wooden spoon in the pan until the mixture if almost setting. This may take a good bit of beating!
- Transfer to your pre-greased tray and spread evenly to the edges/corners.
- Leave to set for at least a couple of hours but ideally overnight. If you want neatly cut squares/bars of tablet score your tablet in your desired size/shape about 30 minutes into setting. Alternatively you can simply break the tablet into individual servings once set for a more rustic feel.
with a generous amount of butter and set aside.
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Vivian says
June 3, 2017 at 4:51 amYummy… It is quite easy to make but it does take a bit of skill to get right. It is worth giving a try.
Jean Lamb says
March 21, 2018 at 1:15 pmJust followed your recipe and used my new thermometer …amazing thing is the old way of boiling for 20 minutes gives exactly 120° !! Thermometer not so hit and miss though ;) xx
Pauline says
March 22, 2018 at 7:47 pmLove this. Would it be okay to share on our social media channels?
Thanks
Polly
Cake Cetera
https://cake-cetera.co.uk/
Fraser Heads says
May 22, 2018 at 1:32 pmEnded up with toffee don’t know why ??
Maureen A Robinson says
July 12, 2018 at 6:28 pmEvery grain of sugar MUST be dissolved before you let it boil. That is the very best tip I was ever given. Take off heat immediately a bubble appears, give it a minute and put back on to heat.
Pauline says
January 4, 2019 at 7:02 pmHa ha I’ve not tried it yet but I can imagine that happening to mine
Cheryl says
June 16, 2018 at 2:26 amDon’t know that I would make tablet with recipe again –
1. Strained my wrist and almost burnt out the motor in my beaters.
2. I doubt my granny would have had enough time for the beating required considering she would have been doing it by hand or even with rotary hand beaters it would put a hell of strain on her wrists.
Maureen A Robinson says
July 12, 2018 at 6:31 pmUse an electric beater for a couple of minutes then beat by hand to get rid of bubbles. Only a couple of minutes and pour. Good luck.
Allie says
August 1, 2018 at 3:30 pmIsn’t granny a saucy bugger
Patricia Rodriguez says
July 28, 2018 at 9:17 pmJust finished making this!! Follow the direction, it will come out Perfect!! My gran used to hand beat it, is used electric mixer. Best recipe ♡♡
Cheryl Hall says
September 18, 2018 at 4:25 amcan I use an stand mixer to beat it?:)
jeffrey charles says
October 5, 2018 at 8:05 pmthere is no need to beat it ,I have never beat it when I make it I let all the sugar dissolve on a medium heat then put the electric stove higher ( the electric burner should be at 5 when you see the bubbles forming keep stirring for 18 minutes ( the tablet should be a medium brown colour ) take off heat and pour on to a baking pan and let stand till hardened.
for your information it the tablet does not harden when placed on the baking pan just place back into the pot and let it boil again keep stirring it for one or two minutes and again pour into the baking pan and it will harden I know this through experience Good luck
Kirsty says
November 6, 2018 at 12:12 pmYou can stand in a bowl of cold water for the first minute of beating which greatly reduces the time.
IanG says
December 1, 2018 at 8:51 pmDoesn’t standing in a bowl of cold water make you go all blue ????
Jenny says
November 7, 2018 at 1:40 amIs this the crumbly or the creamy type of tablet? I am after the crumbly kind.
Judy says
December 13, 2018 at 8:03 amJust wanted to say that Canada is completely mad because our typical tins of sweetened condensed milk come in 300ml, unlike the 380ml or 390ml that the rest of the world (U.S. and the U.K.) seems to get them in. So many recipes call for ‘one tin’ of the stuff, but that ‘one tin’ is 380ml or 390ml, so our ‘one tin’ is never enough!
Sonja says
February 28, 2019 at 7:17 pmHi, looking for a bit of advice. I’ve made this recipie a few times now and the first few times it worked perfect however the last couple of times after beating it when I go to pour it out it starts frothing in the pan and continues once it’s in my tray for a few seconds before deflating. It seems to set pretty quickly and when you taste the tablet it tastes fine and is not grainy.
elise says
March 4, 2019 at 5:08 pmafter it is made, how do you store it? and for how long? i need to make this as well as other sweets for an event in 3 weeks, and want to get a head start on my work?
Mandie says
May 25, 2019 at 3:24 pmFantastic recipe!!!Just like I remember tablet when I was wee and my gran made it..aaah happy sugary memories