Homemade Almond Roca Recipe (Buttercrunch Toffee) (2024)

I’ve been making this homemade almond roca candy (aka almond buttercrunch) recipe for years. I used to buy those pink packs of almond roca candy for mum every Christmas until I learnt how to make it from scratch and now there’s no looking back.

For those who haven’t encountered this magical candy before, you will likely feel the need to make up for lost time once you taste it. Rich, buttery toffee that’s crunchy but won’t break your teeth – it crumbles in your mouth rather than break into shards and it’s absolutely divine. It’s filled with almonds and topped with chocolate and more almonds. Or pair it with pretzels like this Pretzel Christmas Crack.

For more wonderful candy treats, try these Toffee Apples (Candy Apples) and these peppermint creams.

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What is almond roca?

Almond Roca is actually a brand name of an American toffee loaded with almonds and with a gorgeous buttery flavour. It’s commonly known as buttercrunch, almond butter crunch or butter crunch toffee. It’s layers of brittle toffee covered in chocolate and filled with almonds. It’s similar to English toffee, though this latter type doesn’t normally contain nuts nor is English toffee coated in chocolate.

My buttercrunch recipe is a combination of both – having the chocolate and nuts of the American version and using brown sugar like the English version. I use a combination of milk chocolate and dark chocolate (semisweet chocolate) on mine and, I find good eating chocolate melts better than chocolate chips.

Now you can make your own homemade almond buttercrunch candy at home that’s even better than the store-bought version.

Ingredients

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

There are very few ingredients in buttercrunch toffee – butter, brown sugar, salt, almonds and chocolate – and they’re amazing turned into this addictive candy.

You can change things up by adding some vanilla extract or swapping the crunchy almonds for walnuts or pecans.

How to make almond roca

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

Making buttercrunch toffee from scratch is actually very easy.

1. Just cook butter and sugar together in a pan over low heat, letting it bubble for around 10 minutes.
2. Mix through almonds and salt then tip it into a 9×13 inch baking tin lined with baking paper
3. Let it set at room temperature for about 1/2 an hour, then you can transfer it to the fridge or freezer to speed things up
4. Once it feels firm, even if still warm you can add some melted chocolate and more almonds to the top.

How to store homemade toffee

Once your toffee is completely cool and set, you can break it up into pieces with your hands – it breaks fairly easily.

Store your toffee in an airtight container in the fridge – it must be airtight. It will also sit quite happily at room temperature in cooler months, again in an airtight container.

Buttercrunch toffee keeps very well, for weeks even, so it’s perfect for gift giving. Pack it in pretty jars and tie a ribbon around the top and treat all your loved ones. The one suggestion I would make is to box it up quick, so the whole batch doesn’t go missing before you get the chance.

You can even freeze this toffee to prolong it’s life even further, and eat it straight from the freezer too.

Tips and tricks for homemade buttercrunch toffee

• Use good quality everything – there’s only 6 ingredients in this and it goes a long way so use the best you can afford. Good butter, not homebrand, and good eating chocolate are a must.
• Use a candy thermometer – as you need to get your toffee to the hard crack stage – roughly 145C / 295F. It’s worthwhile getting one since they’re cheap and they can be used forever in any candy making adventure.
• Stir regularly – at least every 30 seconds to 1 minute so that the sugar doesn’t burn on the bottom. Whatever you do, DON’T WALK AWAY. You need to stay right with this baby for about 15 minutes total – that’s it – then you’ll be rewarded richly.
• Be very careful – hot caramel is like molten lava and it will cause burns if you get it on your skin. Don’t be too vigorous while mixing so you don’t splash it and take care when pouring it out.
• Use a 9×13 inch baking tin for toffee about 1cm thick, similar to traditional almond roca. Use a larger tin or halve the recipe for very thin toffee.
• Blot the top of the toffee of any excess grease before adding the chocolate.

Troubleshooting toffee

Making toffee is actually super simple but candy making can have it’s technical hitches. Don’t worry, I’ve got the answers.

1. Butter separating while cooking: Overheating or humidity can cause the butter to separate from the sugar. Watch it closely for the telltale signs of it beginning to look greasy while you stir it. If it happens, take it off the heat immediately and stir quickly but carefully. This will both cool it enough to come back together and the stirring action will force it to combine again. Once it comes back together, add your almonds and salt and pour it into the tin.
2. Butter separating after pouring it into the tin: Same as above, it was likely over the ideal temperature or too humid. As long as only some of the butter has separated, you can use some paper towel to blot away the excess butter (careful, it’s hot) and the rest should set up fine.
3. Toffee not setting hard: You didn’t heat it up to the right temperature. It’s very important to get it to 145C / 295F. If you’re eyeballing it, you may not have quite got it there.
4. Chocolate won’t stick and is falling off the toffee once set. One word – grease – it stops things from sticking and with all the butter in this recipe, it can happen. The easiest way to get around this is to blot the set toffee with paper towel to remove any grease, before topping it with chocolate.

This crunchy, crumbly, buttery and sweet homemade almond roca is such a delicious treat and perfect as homemade gifts. Go ahead and make yourself a batch, then get planning for all the holiday gift-giving 🙂

More candy perfect for gift giving

• Salted Caramel Fudge
• Pretzel Christmas Crack (Pretzel Toffee)
• Hazelnut Praline Chocolate Truffles
• Caramel Peanut Fudge
• Easy Dark Chocolate Fudge
• Easy Rocky Road
• Caramelised White Chocolate
• Choc Chip Cookie Dough Fudge

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Have you tried this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.