By Keighley’s Mike Armstrong, an award-winning master baker with a big passion for baking...

THERE are certain foods that I get weird pleasure from making, because they seem like things you would buy rather than make at home.

These foods appear to arrive in the world fully formed, with capitalism having got so good at making them for us we wouldn't ever bother to create them ourselves – like bonfire plot toffee, proper Yorkshire grub.

Yet there's a strong tradition of making plot toffee around Yorkshire, even since it became widely commercially available to buy.

The price of treacle would often rise above the cost of sugar through the Victorian era, making the equivalent of shop-bought toffee too expensive for many Yorkshire families to produce.

But probably right into the 1970s, it was common for older folks to boil a pan of plot toffee at home to give out to local children on Guy Fawkes night.

The origins of toffee can be a bit chewy, and the word doesn't appear until 1825, but in Yorkshire we were making it well before then.

As we all know, parkin uses treacle, and it was available around the 17th century when sugar was imported in large quantities from Barbados. The mid 18th century seems to me like a reasonable assumption for the birth of toffee.

How toffee became closely associated with bonfire night is unclear, but the popularity of parkin and the use of black treacle has to be something to do with it. Plot toffee is associated with the gunpowder plot, an attempt by a group of conspirators – including Guy Fawkes – to blow up Parliament and King James I. The plot was foiled, and on November 5 Guy Fawkes was arrested while guarding barrels of gunpowder stored beneath the Parliament building.

Plot toffee evolved as a celebratory tradition and bonfire treat, along with fireworks and the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes.

Bonfire plot toffee is made with simple ingredients of sugar, black treacle and butter and has a dark, rich, intense flavour, and is hard and brittle when set. It's a fitting choice for warmth and camaraderie shared around the roaring bonfire.

So there you have it. A rich and brittle toffee that continues to symbolise the warmth and togetherness of bonfire night, making it a beloved part of our Yorkshire culture – along with an annual visit to the dentist!

RECIPE

BONFIRE PLOT TOFFEE

Ingredients:

110g/4oz golden syrup

110g/4oz black treacle

225g/8oz dark brown sugar

110g/4oz butter

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Method:

1. Line a small lipped baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

2. Measure all the ingredients into a large saucepan and dissolve over a low heat, stirring occasionally.

3. When melted, increase the heat and bring to a hard boil, then drop a little syrup into a jug of water – if it solidifies into threads as it hits the water, it’s ready.

4. Carefully pour the toffee into the prepared baking tray on a flat surface. If you want even pieces, wait 15 minutes until the toffee is cool to cut with an oiled knife, so when set it will break along the lines.

5. Alternatively, let the toffee completely cool, then break into shards with a toffee hammer or rolling pin.

6. Best stored in an airtight tin or container, wrapped in greaseproof paper, as it will go soft if not stored correctly.