Scottish Tablet
Buttery sweetness that melts in your mouth.
you're making mealtime meaningful.
With its buttery flavor and crumbly texture Scottish Tablet might be a bit confusing to those who’ve never sampled this old fashioned treat before. It’s something in between penuche fudge and toffee in flavor and color, but the texture is perfectly unique. It’s a true classic in Scotland, served at weddings, holidays, and family events. But, it can be a bit tricky to make. Follow our tips and you’ll end up with a delicious batch of this incredible candy for you and yours.
The Recipe Can Vary
I read through a lot of tablet recipes before settling on a method and chose the ingredients to work with. Since I’m not from Scotland I didn’t grow up watching relatives make this candy. But, I found something in common with almost every recipe I read: everything in my kitchen happened a lot faster than what the recipes suggested. I’m not sure if it’s the American equipment or just a difference of technique but it seems to me like the candy mixture boiled and set much faster than the suggested times.
One factor in this may well be the humidity. The amount of moisture in the air and in your sugar can affect any type of candy making. So with that in mind just know that the time for this treat to boil, mix, and set can vary. What you want to do is keep an eye on the texture and color of the mixture, as well as the temperature.
I got a candy thermometer for this recipe, but found it was too slow and that it was hard to both stir and take the temperature at the same time. Instead, I found the old fashioned method of dropping some of the mixture into a glass of cool water, waiting about 20 seconds, then fishing it out to see if it makes a soft ball to be the most accurate and easiest method for testing the temperature. If you want to use a thermometer I give the temperature range in the recipe directions. As it cooks you’ll see the candy turn from pale to a rich caramel color. As long as it’s uniform in color you’re good to go.
Some Important things About This Recipe
- If the mixture has lots of brown specks the bottom is burning either due to too high of temp or from not stirring. Turn the burner down and stir constantly. I set the burner on my electric stove to 5.5/10 initially then turned it down to 4.5-5 after it started bubbling.
- Do not stop stirring after you add the sweetened condensed milk. This is really important.
- Do not overmix the candy once you’ve taken it off the heat. As soon as your beater or spoon leaves a trail in the mixture it’s time to pour it into the cooling pan.
- The pan size determines the thickness of your tablet squares so pick a smaller pan for thicker squares or a larger pan for thinner ones.
- Grease and line your cooling pan. The butter helps the parchment paper stay in place so that you don’t have any movement while you’re pouring the hot candy mixture in. The parchment paper ensures you can remove the candy once it has set.
- This treat is free from gluten, wheat, nuts, and eggs.
- You can add a little vanilla extract or even a spoonful of whiskey to flavor the tablet if you desire.
One taste and you will understand why this Scottish Tablet is considered an essential dessert for parties in Scotland.
Scottish Tablet
Yield(s): Makes 38-48 squares
3h prep time
30m cook time
114 calories
Allergens: Milk
Diet: Gluten-Free
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
Preparation
- Grease and line a 9”x13” pan -or another size pan depending on how thick you want the candy to be.
- In large microwave-safe bowl combine sugar, whole milk, and butter. Heat for 30-second intervals until butter is melted and sugar is beginning to dissolve, stirring each time you take it out.
- Add mixture to stockpot or large saucepan and set heat to medium-high. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Once sugar is dissolved pour in condensed milk and reduce heat to medium. The mixture will rapidly expand so make sure to use a very deep pan.
- Once it’s boiled reduce heat to simmer and keep it gently bubbling for 15-20 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning. When mixture becomes thick and has turned the color of caramel it’s time to take it off the heat. At this point it should read 240-248˚F on the candy thermometer. You can also test the temperature by dropping a small drop into a glass of cool water. If it forms a soft ball it’s ready to remove from the burner.
- Optional: stir in one teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 tablespoon whiskey after removing from heat for variations on flavor.
- Using a hand mixer beat the tablet for 8-10 minutes or until somewhat thickened. This can also be done with a wooden spoon and a bit more time. Stop mixing when your beater or spoon leaves trails in the mixture. This step ensures the texture is correct when it sets.
- Pour into prepared pan. Do not touch the top surface with spoon if you can help it. Tap pan gently on worktop to get it spread into corners. After 10 minutes score the top with lines to make cutting easier. Let set fully for 2-4 hours (or overnight) then cut through your score lines completely.
Recipe adapted from Scottish Scran and Something Sweet Something Savoury.