I’ve had a container full of liquid glucose sitting in the grocery cupboard for ages. An impulse purchase, it joined the jar of lemon curd, basil seeds, candy thermometer, silicon butterfly cupcake moulds and other kitchen porn and paraphernalia on the just-in-case shelf.

So when I saw someone (Nabeelah Saley Tar Mahomed) post a recipe for homemade Almond Roca on Facebook, it was the Universe vindicating me for my hoarding ways.

You will need:
3/4 lb butter (that’s about 1 and 1/2 cups or 340g)
1 and 1/2 cups of sugar
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons liquid glucose
1/2 cup of chopped almonds

Topping:
Melted chocolate (I used a bar of Lindt’s A Touch of Sea Salt for a grown-up spin)
Chopped almonds

Melt butter in a pot.
Add sugar.
Stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add the water and liquid glucose.
Stir until mixture turns slightly brown.
This will take a while, so just keep stirring until the mixture thickens and boils.
At one point, I was quite certain that I had messed up really simple instructions. Instead of the brown the recipe indicated, a buttery yellow glared back at me. I kept at it though, and once the mixture started a rolling boil, I could see it developing into a toffee.
Add almonds and continue stirring until the colour changes to a deep caramel and pulls away from the sides of the pot.
Spread in foil tray and cover with melted chocolate and more chopped almonds.
Allow to harden for a few hours.
I placed my batch in the fridge overnight and cut them into the squares the following day.
Bundled up in cellophane, they make great gifts.
A lesson from toffee-making; in the face of imminent disaster, keep doing what you need to do, and everything will pull together.