Total Time: 2 Hours 20 Minutes | Yields: 8 Servings
Sometimes, being a chemist comes in very handy in the kitchen. In my previous candy experiments you might have noticed the massive amount of molten sugar I’ve been working with. From the marshmallows to the taffy and the butterfinger bars, I’ve been going through pounds and pounds of sugar and my kitchen is getting pretty sticky. (I found some rogue purple sugar this morning while toasting a bagel!) This danger of the sugar is not what makes my PhD an asset, it is my familiarity with failure. Failure Number 1 As a synthetic organic chemist, one gets pretty used to failure. You begin with a plan on paper and you set upon this path. A new project is exciting, you order your reagents and get everything in order. At first things go well and your chemistry works! Then you hit a wall. Perhaps a reaction that you expected to work one way does nothing at all, or worse, something unexpected. The reaction could even destroy all of the forward progress that you have already made, sending you months back. Failure Number 2 Your original plan gets torn apart after a series of failures and you re-write your scheme. No matter how many failures you have there is still that end goal in sight, the completed molecule. You’ve got to finish the project! So, no matter how many failures you have and how many walls you hit you eventually find a way. Success comes to the persistent and persistence pays off (with candy). At Last! Sweet Success This candy was a little tricky to make, only because I didn’t have the right recipe. Many people have sponge candy recipes, but they weren’t coming out like my sponge candy. So many recipes called for vinegar and baking soda, which turns out to be totally unnecessary for the desired reaction. This recipe was the first failure. The second failure involved a recipe that called for heating honey to 300, this causes honey to burn. After a little research into how Buffalo sponge candy is made, I had worked out a recipe and right the method of how to put it together. This final batch came out exactly like I remember it from Watsons and I’m sharing my recipe with you. Don’t worry, I’ve worked out all the kinks for you. These failures lead to candy gold. Eat me Buffalo Sponge Candy A Wilde recipe derived from Watsons Chocolates I hope that I didn’t scare you too much, this candy is amazing! Some people call it Sea Foam, Fairy Food or Hokey Pokey; I just call it Sponge candy. Mention sponge candy to any Buffalonian and they’ll know exactly what you’re talking about. Like an aerated toffee, it melts in your mouth. I always get a box of Watsons sponge candy for Easter (hint, hint Easter bunny!) For an updated version, as well as answers to some common sponge candy questions, see my Sponge Candy FAQs Post! ¼ tsp gelatin 1 tsp water 1 ½ cups sugar ½ cups light corn syrup ½ cup water 1 tbsp baking soda (sifted) Butter a 9x9 pan then dust with flour. Tap out excess flour. (or line with parchment paper!) In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1 tsp water and allow to bloom. In a medium stock pot with high sides, mix sugar, corn syrup and 1/2 cup water together. Heat over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Wash down any sugar crystals from the sides with a wet pastry brush. Clip on candy thermometer and heat to 310° F. Do not stir after you have clipped the thermometer on, the sugar will self stir. Remove from heat and let sit for two minutes, bubbling should subside. Add gelatin and whisk, be careful, the sugar syrup will bubble up. Sprinkle baking soda over syrup and whisk vigorously. Return mixture to the heat and whisk for 30 seconds. The sugar will rise up in the pot, a lot! Quickly pour into prepared pan, it should come out in a big blob. Do not spread the mixture, just let it settle into the pan. Allow to cool completely (about 2 hours or overnight) before removing from the pan. Either break into odd pieces or cut into squares (this is a messy process!). To cut into squares - using a serrated knife, score the candy at 1-inch intervals. Snap the candy apart at the score lines. Then score and break into squares. Melt chocolate melts in a double boiler (or bowl sitting above a pot of boiling water). Dip sponge candies in chocolate, tap off excess. Chill in the fridge to set the chocolate shell. Enjoy!
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Einfacher Snack bzw. auch prima als Deko für Kuchen zu verwenden: Honeycomb.
Sponge Toffee, or honeycomb, is a light airy sweet treat that is actually very easy to make at home. Dip in chocolate for an even more decadent treat!
Honeycomb Toffee | Cinder Toffee Recipe is also known as angel food, hokey pokey, sponge toffee or sea mist candy. It has a crunchy brittle crust which needs to be broken to chew. But yet this simple candy is a perfect gift recipe and worth taking bite after bite. Make sure crystallization of sugar is totally avoided. Undercooked candy is gooey-chewy and overcooked candy is bitter. Candy thermometer is the best solution for this. This 4 ingredients honeycomb toffee needs minimal time for preparation. Enjoy the honeycomb toffee with sea salt sprinkled chocolate ganache. Serve it along with Fresh Ginger Lemonade to pair with Spinach Corn Sandwich Recipe on an evening. If you like this recipe, look into more sweet recipes that we have- Goan Sweet Khatkhati Recipe (Coconut Candy) Gur Paare Recipe ( A traditional Punjabi Wedding Sweet) Til Ke Ladoo(Sesame Ladoo) Recipe Roasted Peanut & Fried Gram Chikki Recipe
Sugar and dark corn syrup are cooked with vinegar and tempered with baking soda to make a crunchy candy that gets covered in a chocolate coating.
Sponge Toffee, or honeycomb, is a light airy sweet treat that is actually very easy to make at home. Dip in chocolate for an even more decadent treat!
Check out this sponge candy recipe and tutorial for making super delicious sponge candy dipped in chocolate. Yum!
Christmas Candy: Sponge Toffee…Thanksgiving is over, and you know what that means? It’s Christmas! Time for baking and cinnamon pine cones and “Home Alone” and endless trips…
A crunchy sweet treat that has the option coat in chocolate.
Crunchie bars - honeycomb wrapped in dairy-free chocolate (also known as cinder toffee or hokey-pokey) This vegan-friendly recipe requires only 5 ingredients. They taste uncannily like the originals!
This fun honeycomb candy is a tasty treat. Chef John's crunchy, crowd-pleasing recipe is easy to make using sugar, corn syrup, honey, and baking soda.
These chocolates have a light-as-air crispy “sponge” of aerated toffee and are especially common in the Buffalo area.