Best Honeycomb Toffee Candy
Known by various names, such as cinder toffee, sponge candy, and my personal favorite, "hokey pokey," this delightful treat is a guaranteed hit with any crowd. Its fascinating melt-in-your-mouth texture is created by the thousands of bubbles trapped in the cooling sugar syrup. As long as you're diligent and heat the syrup to the precise temperature, there's minimal room for error in this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients.
- Line a baking dish with parchment paper, measure out baking soda in a small bowl, and have a heat-proof spatula ready before starting.
- Whisk sugar, corn syrup, water, and honey together in a saucepan with a candy thermometer attached. Heat over medium heat until the mixture is thinner but still cloudy. Let bubble until the mixture is clear and the thermometer registers 300 degrees F (149 degrees C).
- Remove from heat. Whisk in baking soda until just incorporated.
- Switch to a spatula and very carefully pour into the lined dish. Do not spread it out with your spatula or compress the mixture at all, or the bubbles will deflate. Let cool completely, at least 30 minutes.
- Remove candy from the pan by lifting out the parchment paper. Rap against the counter and use your fingers to break it into individual pieces.
Notes
For bigger bubbles, use up to 2 teaspoons baking soda, keeping in mind there might be an aftertaste. Do not use baking powder!
Substitute golden syrup for the corn syrup if desired.
You can also check with a probe thermometer. Some folks say you can simply go by appearance, and when the syrup goes from clear to slightly golden, it’s done, but that requires a certain amount of experience. Another method to gauge the temperature is by dropping a little bit of the molten syrup in water to see if it instantly turns into rock candy. That will work, but since thermometers aren’t expensive, and every kitchen should have one, that really is the way to go.
Nutrition
Calories: 71kcalCarbohydrates: 19gSodium: 161mgPotassium: 2mgSugar: 16gCalcium: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!