Toffee's a recipe for sweet success
A WORLD-FAMOUS toffee recipe recreated from a faded family cookbook is flying off the shelves at a Horbury sweet shop.
Mum Freya Sykes unearthed an old toffee recipe in a cookbook passed down by her grandma, Ella Riley, who died 15 years ago.
Riley's Toffee was a household name when it was produced for decades in Halifax before the trademark was sold and production ceased around 20 years ago.
The handwritten recipe sat on Mrs Sykes' kitchen shelf for years, but last year she tried her hand at making it and it proved a hit with her friends.
Now it is the star attraction at Ella Riley's Toffee and Traditional Sweet Shop, set up by Mrs Sykes two weeks ago on Bridge Road, Horbury Bridge.
Mrs Sykes, 35, said word of mouth led to demand for the toffee among older people who used to buy the Riley's original.
She said: "The old recipe was very faded and the instructions weren't very precise.
"I started making it and it was very popular with my friends. Now people keep coming back for it and I can't keep up with demand."
She said the new toffee was different from the mass-produced recipe, which was understood to still be owned by United Biscuits.
The recipe was modified to make the chocolate-covered toffee softer. It is made to order in front of customers by Mrs Sykes on the shop stove.
The shop sells a range of traditional sweets, including lemon sherbets and Yorkshire Mixture, which have become less common in high street shops in recent years.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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