Scottish Tablet
Traditional Scottish Tablet made with just four ingredients: sugar, milk, butter or block margarine, and sweetened condensed milk. Boiled to soft-ball stage, then beaten and left to set, it has a firm, crumbly texture that melts in the mouth.
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Servings: 30 pieces
INGREDIENTS
- 900 g Caster Sugar
- 250 ml Milk (dairy (full-fat or semi-skimmed), soya, coconut...)
- 110 g Block Margarine or Butter
- 397 g Condensed Milk (usually 1 tin)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the sugar and milk in a large saucepan over a gentle heat. Stir occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved. Grease and line a 20×20cm (8×8 inch) baking tin with
greaseproof paper . Set aside. - When all the sugar has dissolved, add the butter/margarine and allow it to melt.
- Once the butter has melted, add the condensed milk and mix well. Increase the heat and stir continuously while the mixture boils and reaches the soft-ball stage (115-120°C / 240-250°F) on your sugar thermometer. This usually takes 15-20 minutes, but timing may vary.
- 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 thickens and begins to set.
- Transfer to your pre-lined tin and spread evenly to the edges and corners.
- Leave to set for at least 2 hours, but ideally overnight. If you want neatly cut squares/bars of tablet, score your tablet into 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.
Tablet can take quite a bit of beating to get it to thicken and begin setting - this is normal! Factors like temperature and humidity can affect this too. It's difficult to overbeat Tablet, and much more common that you will underbeat it. Stick with it (and have a break if needed!). It will get there!
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion, but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
Milk: Most milks and milk-alternatives work well in Tablet. Full-fat dairy milk would be the most traditional, but semi-skimmed works just as well. I have also had success using both soya milk and coconut milk.
Butter or Margarine: Butter is the traditional choice, but block margarine works equally well. Avoid soft or spreadable margarine, as varieties can differ considerably. And unsalted butter is preferable.
Temperature: Use a sugar thermometer and aim for the soft-ball stage, around 115-120°C (240-250°F). This is important for helping the tablet set properly.
Beating: Once the mixture reaches soft-ball temperature, remove it from the heat and beat it in the pan until it thickens and begins to set - this can take quite a bit of beating! Underbeating is much more common, so don't worry about overbeating.
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