Note: This post for Scottish Tablet was originally published on 21st September 2013, but I have updated the information, improved the post and added shiny new photographs to look at.
I’ve been on a bit of a sweetie/candy/snacky/nibbles craze the last few weeks, and this Scottish Tablet is perfect for satisfying those cravings. So please just bear with me while I get it out of my system. Today I’m sharing something that is native to where I live in Scotland, Scottish tablet. It’s not fudge and its certainly not toffee. It’s a medium hard melt in the mouth confection and is often seen for sale in church fates and market stalls.
Most Scottish families have their own family recipe for Scottish Tablet. This one is my Mother-In-Laws and I promise it’s a no-fail recipe that will give you great results every single time.
Ingredients.
I am led to believe that originally Scottish Tablet was made with sugar and cream. But because cream tends to burn when boiled, over the year’s sweetened condensed milk was used as a cheaper and safer alternative in its place.
My Mother-In-Laws recipe is easy to follow one only requiring 4 ingredients. Butter, milk, condensed milk and sugar. Lots and lots and lots of sugar. I should warn you this is one for those of you out there with a really, really sweet tooth! It’s not health food, this is a wonderfully sweet treat for special occasions and is great for parties.
How to make Scottish Tablet.
And all you need to make this is a large saucepan, a wooden spoon, a 10 x 8 inch lined tin, and a little bit of time. You start off by melting the sugar, butter and milk together over a gentle heat and allowing it to simmer for 10 minutes. Making sure all of the sugar has dissolved, so you have a smooth light caramel coloured liquid in your pan.
You then add in the sweetened condensed milk and over medium heat, stirring often you let it bubble away for 20 minutes. Thickening and deepening the colour to a rich caramel.
You then pour it into your prepared tin and allow it to set, preferably at room temperature for several hours until it has fully set. To speed it up you can place it in the fridge but bring it back up to room temperature before trying to cut it into cubes.
This confection has such a sweet almost toffee flavour and a small amount goes a long way, traditionally its served after dinner with coffee, and trust me it goes wonderfully with a lovely cup of coffee. And it would be a lovely unusual treat to serve your guests at a dinner party after all after dinner mints are so last week!!!
And bagged up in little cellophane bags and tied with a pretty ribbon bow this would make a lovely hostess gift or a gift for your teacher, neighbour or a nice homemade birthday present. Or placed into a nice tin and gifted to a friend or loved one.
Scottish tablet
Ingredients
- 900 grams sugar ((4 and 1/2 cups))
- 55 grams unsalted butter ((1/4 cup))
- 240 millilitres milk ((1 cup))
- 397 grams 1 medium can sweetened condensed milk, (1 and 1/3 cup)
Instructions
- Dissolve the sugar, butter and milk in a large pan bring it to the boil then gently simmering for 10 minutes. Stirring on occasion, checking if the sugar has fully dissolved.
- Pour in the condensed milk and boil for around 20 minutes, until the mixture starts to thicken and turns a golden caramel colour. Stirring as needed to help keep the tablet from sticking to the pan or boiling over.
- Once it’s thickened, take off the heat and beat till its thick and creamy. If you feel it needs to be a little thicker pop the pan back on the heat for a few more minutes then continue to beat it off the heat.
- Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth it out and leave it for a few hours at room temperature to fully set.
- Once set cut into 1-inch squares and put them in a tin.
- Scottish table can be kept at room temperature in an airtight tin for up to 10 days. But it can also be kept in the fridge up to 2 weeks.
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Thanks for sharing! I made this last night and it turned out really well! I’ve never had it before, so I’m not sure if the visitor l consistency is quite right. I think I need to beat it a little more vigorously next time. It was getting close to bedtime and I was tired. lol Most importantly it is delicious! I recommend using a bigger pot than you think you need. I very nearly had a mess when it got to boiling the second time around!
The bigger the pot the better! Glad you still found it tasty 🙂
Thanks for sharing! How far ahead of time can I make them?
A week to 10 days but it will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge.
Tried this today and it was such an easy recipe! And SO tasty.
I’m not sure it turned out quite right though. When I cut the tablet, it broke and crumbled a fair bit. Any idea what I did wrong?
Hi Nikki, tablet can be a little crumbly at times. Some people prefer it that way. I can only imagine that it was left on the heat for a few too many minutes reducing some of the liquid a little. But the main thing is it tasted awesome!
Made this and it turned out well. I think I beat it a little too long because it was almost too hard to spread out. Good subtle flavor. I think I will substitute 1/4 cup of brown sugar for 1/4 cup of the white sugar. I prefer a more pronounced flavor.
I’m so glad for you that it turned out well for you, it can go from pourable to super thick very quickly. I am sure it will be fantastic with the brown sugar.
Hi Emma, I was wondering if you (or anyone you know) have ever tried making tablet in a slow cooker before? I made chocolate fudge (tin of condensed milk and 400g chocolate) in the slow cooker earlier and although it was super tasty, it was rather chewy and I prefer a much more crumbly texture. I went on the hunt for a crumbly fudge and happened upon your tablet recipe! I loved using the slow cooker for the fudge earlier so thought I’d check about the tablet
Also, I read on a previous comment that your family home is on the Devon/Cornwall border? Well I live in North Devon haha! Small world
Hi Mairi, I don’t know anyone that has made tablet in a slow cooker. Though I have never tried it, I can’t imagine that the slow cooker ever gets hot enough to melt all that sugar. Though I could be wrong. My only advice would be if you do give it a try and it doesn’t seem to come together. Pour it into a heavy bottom pan and bring it back up to a boil and follow the instructions from there. Good luck if you do decide to give it a go. But my overall advice would be to do it in a pan, it doesn’t take too long.
It is a small world! Give my best to the beautiful North Devon 😀
Hi Emma, I used your recipe yesterday and followed instruction to the letter unhappily although the result looks fine and tastes delicious it is pretty soft What Have I done/not done?
Hi Fiona, I am sorry it didn’t set for you. It could be one of two things or maybe a combination. It either wasn’t boiled for long enough so it didn’t reach what is known as softball stage or it wasn’t beaten for long enough. Or maybe a little bit of both. If you still have it you can try returning it to the heat and bringing it to the boil and let it bubble away for another 5 minutes. Keep stirring! Take a tiny teaspoon of it and drop it in a cold glass of water, if it sets that’s it at softball stage. Then beat it for a few minutes off the heat and pour it into a pan and see if it sets. If you can’t be bothered to do that, as it still tastes great why not use it as ice cream topping or stir it into a softened tub of vanilla ice cream and have Scottish tablet ice cream! Waste not, want not! I hope this helps 🙂
Thank you Emma I did as you said and it came out perfect xx
I’m so glad to hear that Fiona 😀
I am going to try. Thank you.
I am sure you will love it, Michelle!
Oh you have brought back memories of over 60 years ago when my Dad would make Scottish Tablet. I remember him putting a little cold water in the bottom of the sink and he would put the pan in there and whip the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon to thicken, and we would then wait for it to be ready! Thanks for the memory!
You are more than welcome for the happy memory June.
Hi Emma. I discovered Scottish tablet while in Scotland last month; and, I was instantly addicted. I’ve been trying different recipes since. They all have similar ingredients, although with different measurements. (BTW, thanks for providing American measurements.) However, none have both regular and condensed milk; and all of the others have 1/4 lb of butter. So, I’m wondering if yours only calls for 1/4 cup of butter because of the extra milk. Thanks for the recipe and I’m looking forward to also trying some of the others on your website.
Hi Janice, I asked my Mother-in-Law why regular milk was used in the recipe and less butter than other recipes. Unfortunately, all she could tell me was that was the way her mother made it. But she had a feeling it was because butter was scarce as they grew up on a very remote island in the Scottish Orkneys. So I guess it was just a case of working with what they had.
I’m making it right now! I’ve followed the instructions so far but as it’s bubbling away with all the ingredients some little dark brown bits keep popping up. Is it burning? What have I done wrong? Otherwise looks good and smells amazing already!
Hi Sarah, I am sure you have done nothing wrong. Tablet can be a bit tricky at times. The small dark flecks could just be where the bottom of your pan is getting really hot which can not be helped and some of the sugar is becoming over caramelised. I am sure it will not effect the over all flavour. A heavy bottomed pan is always favoured when making any kind of confection because of the prolonged heat that its exposed to. Also just keep stirring away during the cooking process to keep all the ingredients moving and help prevent them from sticking to the bottom of your pan. I hope your tablet tasted amazing.
Hi Emma
The little dark bits are indeed caramelized sugar. I make a flavoured tablet for a local shop every Christmas and apart from spices and flavours I rely on the ‘burnt’ bits for part of the flavour as it is caramel and they dissolve into the mix when beating. I also feel salted butter gives a better taste to unsalted.
Keep up the good work
Hi Neil, I like the idea of using salted butter, I shall have to give that a go next time I make it. I am yet to try any flavoured tablet but you have inspired me to give it a go. Merry Christmas.
I am fond of sweets, so I wanted to give this recipe a try. Seeing the picture, I thought it is some Indian sweet but it turned out to be a Scottish sweet to my surprise. I want to ask that is the sweetened condensed milk added once the mixture reaches a boil? I also added 2 tablespoons of light corn syrup in boiled water which helped the sweet to set better.
Hi Corrie, sorry for the late reply! Somehow it slipped me by. You add the condensed milk once the sugar has fully dissolved. You bring it to a boil once added.
your blog is so educational! i hadn’t heard of tablet before this, but i love how creamy it looks and anything with toffee notes is sure to be tasty in my book (:
Thank you Heather. Moving to Scotland was a food education for me too 😉
These look like a perfect little candy, and good for gift giving!
Thank you, Balvinder 😀
A Scottish tablet seems like an awesome recipe which is a great treat for people with a sweet tooth, Emma! What kind of milk do you usually use?
Hi Agness, I usually use semi-skimmed (UK name) which is a half-fat cows milk. Traditionally it would have been a full-fat milk but I never have this in my house!
These look so pretty and delish, Emma. I wish I could have a couple of them right away.
Thanks Anu 😀
I can feel them gently melting in my mouth… It is so beautiful. I need to try this ASAP 🙂
I am sure you will love it once you try it 🙂
Never had Scottish Tablet – it sounds and looks like a delicious treat. Amazing that it has only 4 ingredients! Have a nice weekend, Emma!
Thanks, Miriam. Weirdly I don’t think its available in England! I think the Scots are trying to keep it to themselves 😉
Hi Emma, they do make it in Cornwall but it’s nowhere as good as Scottish Tablet, it’s more a crumbly fudge, nice but not the real thing. I love this recipe, just as my Dad used to make it and it’s worked every time. Martin
Hi Martin, next time I am home I must try and hunt some down. My family home is on the Devon Cornwall border 😀
My son is making tablet tonight, I live and was brought up in Ayrshire, Scotland, tablet is a traditional gift given to Guisers ( trick or treating kids for those of you over the pond) at Halloween.
Hi Roy, I hope you and your son have fun making it 🙂
I love homemade candy and the workout that you put into it while stirring is so worth it. Your recipe for Scottish tablet looks amazing and I would love to try it.
Thank you, Ashika. The work out lessens the guilt of enjoying this treat 😀
I have never heard of Scottish tablet before (learning something new today) but it sure does sound delicious!
Thanks, Ashley. Every day is a learning day….. or so they used to tell me at school!
If we made this to give as a gift, there would be one or two pieces left. Maybe. 🙂 Terrific recipe — and so easy! Thanks.
Thanks, John. For something so sweet it really is hard to leave alone and is very easy to nibble on!
Hmm.. I can’t imagine what it would taste like if it is not like fudge OR toffee. I guess I will have to try it myself!
I am sure you will love it Cathleen 😀
I’ve never heard of Scottish tablet but I already know I’ll adore it. Anything made with sweetened condensed milk has to be delicious 🙂
Thanks, Kelsie. It does become a bit of a habit, once tried always loved.
Looks like the perfect sweet tooth snack.
It certainly is!
I’ve never heard of this candy before! I wonder if my parents got to sample it when they lived in Glasgow? Looks perfect for the holidays!
Hi Liz, I am sure when they lived in Glasgow they would have had a chance at some point to try it. It is sold in every shop, raffled at every church fate and given as gifts amongst neighbours at Hogmanay (New Year). It really is one of Scotlands favourite treats 😀
Sweet tooth is on full alert so this recipe would be perfect. I guess if we just have one little bite or two that is all you need. Perfect for a holiday gift too and love the fact this it has just a handful of ingredients. Sharing, of course!
For me one or two bits are ample, but my fella who is full blooded Scottish can devour much more. This does make a perfect holiday gift as well 😀
OOoh thank you for this! I’ve always wanted to make tablet and now I can! 😀
I am positive you will love it, Lorraine 😀
This looks like it’d go fast at parties. Would be nice with chocolate drizzle on top!
Thanks Nicole, a chocolate drizzle would be lovely 😀
my grandmother made this! i haven’t seen it in 40 yrs! i’m so happy. i actually have little tears in the corners of my eyes with the happy memories of cooking with her. thanks for the joy.
You are more than welcome Mike 😀
being a scot living abroad it brings back so much joy and memorys
Thanks James, I am glad I could bring back some happy memories 😀
Do you stir it constantly while it’s heating?
Hi Rebecca, sorry I didn’t make it very clear. At the beginning stir it a little but one the condensed milk is added stir it more often. You don’t need to stir it constantly but don’t walk away from the pan, colour changes can happen in the blink of an eye! Good luck I am sure you will love it, any more questions just drop me a line and I’ll be happy to help 😀
This looks so good. I am going to give it a try. Do you use Granulated sugar or Caster sugar?
Hi Lynn, either should work fine 😀
I tried your recipe for Scottish tablet and am having some problems. Firstly, it hasn’t set properly &, secondly, it has a very grainy texture! Please tell me where I’ve gone wrong!
Hi Joyce, sorry to hear you are having problems. For the setting issue try giving it an extra 5 – 10 minutes on the heat and make sure you beat it very vigorously after it comes off the heat. If it still doesn’t feel very thick pop it back on the heat for a few more minutes. As for the grainy texture are you making sure all of the sugar is dissolved before reducing the heat in the first step. You need to make sure it’s fully turned to liquid before Simmering. Also the vigorous beating before putting it in the pan can help smooth it out. It’s a real work out for the upper arms but it is really worth it. Hope this helps 🙂
I’ve tried different recipes without much success. I did this one and it turned out great only thing i did different was I added vanilla extract just before I whisked it. Thankyou for sharing your recipe.
Hi Vania, thank you for dropping by I am so glad this recipe worked for you 😀
Oh my goodness! I made a batch of these this morning. I am in deep trouble, can’t keep my hands off them.
I only had 2% milk, so I used half that and half cream for the milk. I did cook mine a little longer but not but a few minutes. Once it had cooled a bit I scored it and once it was cooled completely, turned it out on a cutting board and with the scoring, the pieces broke apart pretty easy.
I’m making some more for Christmas Presents, along with some other home made goodies.
Thank you so much for this easy and yummy Scottish treat!
Hi Kaye, I am so glad you enjoyed the Scottish Tablet and I am sure your friends and family will love receiving this foodie gift for Christmas. It really is difficult to keep away from isn’t it 😀
Interesting, I never experienced Scottish Tablet. Will have to try it.
It’s worth making its a real Scottish treat 😀
That lasts for 12 days? Not at my house it wouldn’t. 🙂
I’m eager to try this. It sort of looks like Russian Caramels but maybe better.
It never lasts 12 days in my house, I made a batch the other day as its my other half’s favourite and he has demolished most of it already! I’ve never had Russian caramels I shall have to check them out sounds intriguing.
I love tablet. Yours looks excellent.
Thank you, it’s my mother in laws old family recipe all the way from the Orkney Islands 🙂 it certainly met with approval from my other half!
looks yummy and delicious
Hi Ruxana thanks for stopping by 🙂 Try making it honestly you will love it.