6 Easy Steps to Making Quick Scottish Tablet (2024)

British Desserts
Candy

Elaine Lemm

Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.

Learn about The Spruce Eats'Editorial Process

Updated on 04/18/23

Tested by

Diana Rattray

Tested byDiana Rattray

Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.

Learn about The Spruce Eats'Editorial Process

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 40 mins

Cooling Time: 30 mins

Total: 85 mins

Servings: 40 servings

Yield: 4 1/2 pounds

editor badge

203 ratings

Write a Review

Add a comment

Scottish tablet is an extremely sugary candy with a coarse texture that is not as dense as hard candy but not as soft as fudge. It is brittle, delicious, and seriously addictive. Embedded in Scottish culture since the early 18th century, this candy was originally made with sugar and cream, but more modern recipes (like ours) add butter and condensed milk.

Tablet is easy to make as long as you follow the instructions closely and handle the hot sugar mixture carefully. Everyone with a sweet tooth will love this classic recipe!

6 Easy Steps to Making Quick Scottish Tablet (3)

"This sweet Scottish tablet melts in your mouth, and the recipe makes a big batch. I used my stand mixer for beating and added 1 1/2 tablespoons of vanilla extract. The texture of the candy is soft, crumbly, and slightly grainy. The instructions were very good, and the tablet was perfect." —Diana Rattray

6 Easy Steps to Making Quick Scottish Tablet (4)

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

1 cup (8-ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, more for greasing the pan
2 cups whole milk
4 pounds superfine sugar, about 9 cups
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
See Also
What Exactly Is The Scottish Sweet Tablet? - Tasting Table
Flavorings like pure vanilla extract orwhisky, to taste, optional

Steps to Make It

Gather the ingredients.
Butter a 9 x 13-inch or 9-inch square pan, depending on the desired thickness.
In a large saucepan, heat the milk on low heat. Add the butter, stirring continuoulsy until melted.
Affix a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
Add the sugar, stirring continuously until it dissolves. Raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a hard boil for 5 minutes, stirring continuously to prevent the sugar from sticking to the sides of the pan and/or burning, until the temperature registers 250 F (known as the hard-ball stage in candy and toffee making).
Carefully add the condensed milk, stirring to combine. Because the sugar is at a high temperature it may splatter, so use caution.
Lower the heat to low and continue to simmer until medium bubbles form on the surface, and the mixture begins to darken slightly, reduce and thicken, 20 to 25 minutes.
Transfer the pan to a kitchen towel on a work surface. With an electric mixer, beat the mixture on high until it is no longer smooth and shiny, and appears grainy and thick, 5 to 10 minutes.
Stir in any optional flavorings.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with a silicone spatula.
Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. When the tablet is cool but still soft, cut into 1-inch squares. Let sit until completely cooled. If you prefer, put the pan in the freezer to make sure it is completely cold.
Wrap tablet pieces in greaseproof paper and store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

Tips

As with any candy-making process, be mindful of your safety and the safety of others when making Scottish tablet:

The mixture reaches very high temperatures, so use caution when preparing. Keep kids and pets away for safety.
For this recipe, you will need a heavy-based, minimum 4-quart capacity saucepan. Use anything larger if you have it. Since the Scottish tablet reaches a rolling boil, sometimes the mixture can swell up quickly and boil over if the heat is a fraction too high. A larger pan will make it safer.
Have a dry kitchen towel with you at all times. Do not touch spilled candy with bare hands—use your towel. Remember that the steam burns as bad and sometimes worse than the candy itself.
Use the back burners of your stove, a wooden spatula for mixing, and thick heat-resistant gloves to manipulate the pot.

Recipe Variations

Tablet can be flavored as desired by simply adding your favorite flavor like peppermint, vanilla, or orange extract, ground cinnamon, or whisky.
Roasted, chopped nuts like walnuts, pecans, and almonds are also a nice addition.
If you can't find superfine or caster sugar, you can use a food processor to make it at home. Process granulated sugar, in batches, until fine, about 20 to 30 seconds. It should be fine, not powdery.

How to Store Scottish Tablet

Store Scottish tablet in an airtight container with pieces separated by wax paper or parchment paper. Keep it at room temperature for up to 10 days or store it in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.
Scottish tablet may be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap it in wax pepper, then wrap it in foil or plastic wrap. Place the wrapped tablet in an airtight container or freezer bag.

Why Is My Scottish Tablet Not Setting?

If your Scottish tablet isn't setting up, the reason likely has to do with temperature. The mixture must be brought up to a full boil for five minutes and reach 250 F before simmering. Use a candy thermometer for best results.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
267	Calories
6g	Fat
53g	Carbs
1g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 40
Amount per serving
Calories	267
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g	8%
Saturated Fat 4g	19%
Cholesterol 18mg	6%
Sodium 59mg	3%
Total Carbohydrate 53g	19%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Total Sugars 53g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg	2%
Calcium 54mg	4%
Iron 0mg	0%
Potassium 68mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

Candy
dessert
scottish
valentine's day

Rate This Recipe

I don't like this at all.It's not the worst.Sure, this will do.I'm a fan—would recommend.Amazing! I love it!Thanks for your rating!

FAQs

What is a Scottish tablet made of? ›

How is Scottish tablet made? To make Scottish tablet, sugar, condensed milk, butter, and vanilla extract (optional) are boiled together in a pan until the mixture reaches the correct temperature and consistency. The mixture is then poured into a tray and left to set. Once set, the tablet is cut into bite-sized pieces.

Know More ›

How long does a homemade Scottish tablet last? ›

Tablet is over 50% sugar and because sugar is a natural preservative, it means that if it is kept in an airtight tin and stored at room temperature, it can last for around 10 days. If you keep it in the fridge, however, it can keep for a few weeks!

Why is my Scottish tablet hard? ›

The most common reason for this is that you haven't taken your tablet to a high enough temperature when cooking it. The Scottish Tablet mixture needs to be not only boiling for a decent time (approx. 20 mins), it also needs to reach a very high temperature to ensure it will set.

What do you do if your Scottish tablet doesn't set? ›

If your Tablet still doesn't set, it is possible to pour it back in a pan, reheat, and start the process again. It can turn out a bit more sugary/grainy, but at least you'll still get Tablet!

How is tablet made? ›

Manufacture of the tableting blend

Two basic techniques are used to granulate powders for compression into tablets: wet granulation and dry granulation. Powders that can be mixed well do not require granulation and can be compressed into tablets through direct compression ("DC").

Keep Reading ›

Can a tablet last 10 years? ›

Each drawing tablet manufacturer will have different software update schedules and timelines. For example, Android tablets typically only receive three years on average, while XPPen tablets receive 4 to 5 years.

Get More Info ›

When was Scottish tablet first made? ›

Scottish tablet is a centuries old recipe, and has stood the test of time due to its simple and inexpensive ingredients. Historians believe that the first tablet recipe was published in the 1700, although at this time, tablet was made with sugar and cream!

Read On ›

How to store homemade Scottish tablet? ›

Store Scottish tablet in an airtight container with pieces separated by wax paper or parchment paper. Keep it at room temperature for up to 10 days or store it in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.

Can Scottish tablet be frozen? ›

Homemade tablet will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for at least 2 or 3 weeks. Tablet can be frozen. Defrost at room temperature before serving. Please note that freezing will slightly change the texture of the tablet, but it will still taste good.

Show Me More ›

What does a Scottish tablet taste like? ›

Think the sweetest fudge you've ever had, without the vanilla flavour, but more of a crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth texture. And multiple the sweetness by about a hundred. Then you're pretty close to what tablet tastes like!

Find Out More ›

How do you fix a dead tablet? ›

Leave the tablet for a while and try to turn it on with the tablet still in place. If that doesn't work, try a different compatible charger, preferably one you know works from using it on another device. You can also try replacing the cable used between the charger and the tablet.

Read The Full Story ›

Why is my old tablet so slow? ›

Outdated software

Another common cause of slow performance is outdated software. If your tablet runs an old Android version, it can't take advantage of the latest speed-enhancing features. To check for a software update, open the Settings app and tap About tablet. Then, tap System updates and follow the prompts.