Cream Candy

This is old-fashioned pulled cream candy: a plain sugar syrup boiled hard, aerated by hand, and then left to crystallize deliberately so that the taffy turns short and creamy. Almost everything depends on the temperature and on how the pulling is done.

• The hinge: pull it long enoughThe candy only ripens into a creamy centre if enough air and enough fine crystal seed are worked in during pulling. Pull until the rope is opaque white, dull rather than glossy, and stiff enough to resist -- usually 10 to 15 minutes. Under-pulled candy stays a chewy taffy and never creams.
• 262F is not optionalUse a calibrated candy thermometer. A few degrees low and the finished pieces slump; a few degrees high and they go hard and dry rather than creamy. Test your thermometer in boiling water first and adjust for altitude by subtracting about 1F per 500 feet of elevation.
• Do not stir, and wash the sides downThe instruction to boil without stirring is there to prevent premature crystallization. Wash any sugar crystals off the pan sides with a wet pastry brush early on, then cover the pan for the first minute or two so steam rinses them down.
• The marble slabAn ice-cold buttered marble or granite slab is still the best surface, but a heavy rimmed sheet pan chilled in the freezer and buttered works. Cool only until the edges are handleable -- roughly a minute or two -- then fold the mass inward with a buttered scraper and start pulling. Buttered heatproof gloves make this manageable.
• Measurements as givenHalf a tablespoon of vanilla is 1 1/2 teaspoons. Three-quarters cup butter is 6 ounces, or 1 1/2 sticks; use unsalted and expect the candy to be noticeably rich.
• Add flavour off the heatVanilla and most extracts are alcohol-based and will flash off in a hot syrup, which is why the recipe waits until the slab. Oil flavourings such as peppermint or cinnamon are far stronger -- a few drops replaces the tablespoon-scale measure of an extract.
• Marking and storingCut the pulled rope with buttered scissors, or score it into squares while still pliable, and lay the pieces out in a single layer on parchment. Leave them uncovered at cool room temperature for the 24 hours it takes to cream, then store airtight. Humidity is the enemy: on a damp day the candy weeps and stays sticky.
• YieldSix cups of sugar makes a large batch -- roughly 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of candy, or eighty to a hundred small pieces. Halve it for a first attempt, since a smaller mass is easier to pull before it stiffens.