Best Ever Honeycomb
Best Ever Honeycomb AKA Cinder Toffee, Hokey Pokey, Sponge Candy & Crunchie. A foolproof recipe with step by step instructions to help you make the crunchiest homemade honeycomb.
Halloween and Bonfire Night are fast approaching so I thought I’d share my Kitchen Shed Tips to help you make the best and crunchiest honeycomb … although getting here wasn’t as straightforward as I’d hoped.
This foolproof recipe for Best Ever Honeycomb was developed during my attempts to make wedding favours for a family wedding. Four hundred pieces of chocolate covered crunchy honeycomb were required.
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Naively I thought it was simply a matter of a quick practice run and all would be good to go – how wrong I was !
It’s fair to say I had a few confectionery crises as initial attempts were too sticky and then too hard and I imagined queues of wedding guests outside the dentist’s surgery.
The feedback on the wedding day made all the last minute honeycomb panic worthwhile. Enjoyed by kids and adults alike, Best Ever Honeycomb was a real winner.
It was lovely to hear guests reminiscing and sharing their childhood memories of Woolworth’s chocolate honeycomb. Honeycomb turned out to be my Dad’s favourite childhood sweet.
Homemade Honeycomb FAQs
If you’re making honeycomb for the first time or you have any questions, please take a read through my FAQs for extra tips and handy information.
What Is Honeycomb ?
Honeycomb, also referred to as cinder toffee, Hokey Pokey, Sponge Candy and Sea Foam is a light, airy sweet made from a sugar syrup and bicarbonate of soda / baking soda. The honeycomb structure is caused by the bicarbonate of soda reacting with the hot sugar syrup and creating pockets of air.
It has a delicious sweet, toffee flavour and is often covered with chocolate.
What Do I Need To Make Honeycomb ?
The most important thing when making honeycomb is to have everything ready before you start.
Equipment
A clean, medium sized heavy based saucepan. You need plenty of room for the toffee to expand when you add the bicarbonate of soda.
A sugar or jam thermometer is essential although I now like to use a Thermapen as you get a quick and accurate digital reading. If you want your honeycomb to be perfect and not soft, not teeth breakingly hard or bitter, you really do need to use an accurate thermometer.
A cup of water and a pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals forming in your pan.
A shallow baking tray lined with baking parchment.
Ingredients
Sugar – Cane sugar is easier to work with and the addition of golden syrup helps to prevent crystals forming.
I like to use Tate & Lyle caster sugar, readily available here in the UK, as it’s a fine pure cane sugar which dissolves quickly.
Golden syrup – golden syrup is an inverted sugar syrup which helps prevent crystallisation. I use Lyle’s Golden Syrup, which although it is a UK product, can now be ordered via Amazon in the US and most of the other Amazon stores.
Glucose syrup can also be used as it has a similar effect but doesn’t give the same caramel like flavour as golden syrup.
How To Make Best Ever Honeycomb
Best Ever Honeycomb takes about 10 minutes to make.
Preparation is key so make sure you have your ingredients and equipment ready. Check the recipe card first.
Sugar crystals are your enemy, follow these steps and you’ll have nothing to worry about.
Add the ingredients to a medium sized heavy based saucepan and attach the sugar thermometer to the side of the pan. Place on a low heat and stir gently until the sugar has dissolved.
To test if the sugar is completely dissolved scoop out a small amount of the syrup with a spoon. You should not be able to see any sugars crystals in the liquid.
Now you can turn up the heat to medium AND DO NOT STIR or your syrup will crystallise. I find it useful to have a cup of water and pastry brush so I can brush the sides of my pan to prevent sugar crystals forming.
I like to heat the syrup to around 150C as I prefer a brittle toffee and a caramel flavour. If you stop at a lower temperature your honeycomb will be softer.
BE CAREFUL when you take the pan off the heat, the pan and contents will be very hot.
Now it’s time for the magic – add the bicarbonate of soda and gently whisk until the bicarb has disappeared.
It’s important to cool the honeycomb mixture down as quickly as you can – this helps prevent those rogue sugar crystals forming – so pouring into a shallow baking tray lined with baking paper does the job nicely.
Once it has set – it’s time for the best bit, breaking and eating!
Or store in an airtight container.
AND LASTLY…
For an easy clean – immediately fill your empty pan with hot soapy water and leave for a few minutes before washing.
Why Is My Homemade Honeycomb Chewy ?
The syrup is taken off the heat too soon, it’s a common mistake and one I made!
Underheating the sugar makes the honeycomb sticky so it won’t set correctly.
Keep your eye on the sugar thermometer and make sure the temperature reaches at least 146 degrees C or 295 degrees F.
This is known as the hard crack stage which is 146 to 155 degrees C or 295 to 310 degrees F.
Why Does My Honeycomb Taste Burnt ?
TOO much heat ! Another common mistake and you guessed it – I made it too !
The syrup becomes burnt and bitter, you can see it starting to smoke.
DON’T leave your pan unattended and keep an eye on the temperature.
Remove from the heat as soon as it reaches temperature and add the bicarbonate of soda.
How Do I Store Homemade Honeycomb ?
In an airtight container or it will go soft. A glass container works best.
DO NOT STORE HONEYCOMB IN THE FRIDGE otherwise it will go soft.
How Long Does Homemade Honeycomb Last ?
Stored correctly in an airtight container in a cool dry place honeycomb will last for up to three months or longer.
I’ve stored ours in Le Parfait jars and our honeycomb was still crisp after six months.
What To Do With Honeycomb
Cover with chocolate, who can resist homemade Crunchie?
Honeycomb is delicious in ice cream, crumbled on the top of chocolate cakes, cheesecakes or cupcakes.
How do you use yours?
Best Ever Honeycomb
Equipment
- A clean medium sized heavy based saucepan
- A sugar or jam thermometer
- A pastry brush
- A cup of water
- A whisk
- A shallow baking tray lined with baking parchment
Ingredients
- 175 g Caster Sugar Cane sugar if available
- 4 tbsp Golden Syrup
- 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda/Baking Soda
Instructions
- Add the sugar and golden syrup to the pan and attach the thermometer to the side of the pan.
- Place on a low heat and stir gently until dissolved, try not to let the mixture bubble until completely dissolved.Do not stir once the sugar has dissolved or it will crystallise.
- Once completely melted, turn up the heat to medium and heat until the temperature reaches 150 Degrees C, it will be a lovely golden colour.
- As quickly as you can take the pan off the heat and remove the thermometer. Be careful you don't want to burn yourself with hot caramel.
- Tip in the bicarbonate of soda and gently whisk in until it has all disappeared and the mixture is foaming, taking care not to overdo it.
- Pour out gently into the lined tin, pouring as near to the bottom of the lined tin as you can so you don't lose those lovely bubbles.Carefully scrape out the last of the mixture with a silicone spatula.
- Leave to cool before cracking into chunks. Optional: Cover with chocolate.
- Store in an airtight container, glass works best.
Video
Notes
- If you’re making honeycomb for the first time then I recommend reading the main blog post for extra tips and answers to FAQs.
- Recipe can easily be doubled.
- Use Cane Sugar if you can, it’s easier to work with.
PIN FOR LATER
I’m entering Best Ever Honeycomb into a few food challenges this month:
- Credit Crunch Munch created by Camilla from Fab Food 4 All & Helen over at Fuss Free Flavours & hosted this month by Camilla.
- The Teatime Treats Challenge  hosted by Karen over at Lavender & Lovage and Janie at The Hedgecombers, hosted this month by Karen.
- Treat Petite hosted by Stuart over at Cakeyboi and Kat at The Baking Explorer, hosted this month by Cakeyboi.
And linking to: Fiesta Fridays
Looks like I need to invest in a jam thermometer! This recipe looks so good and your instructions are so detailed I might give it a try:)
Thanks Monika, you can make the honeycomb without the jam thermometer but it really does make life easier to use it. Let me know if you do ending up giving it a try. 🙂
Just came across your recipe. My girls love this candy, but it’s oh so expensive here. Will definitely be making these for them. Thanks for posting for us all to enjoy.
You’re most welcome Darlene, I’m so pleased you found my recipe. Making your own honeycomb is much cheaper to make than shop bought and it tastes so much better too, do let me know how you get on 🙂
In the US we call it angel food candy.
Thanks for the information Doris, what a lovely name for honeycomb.
Ooh I’d love to try this when the weather has cooled just a tad. The wedding favour boxes look beautiful, what a unique and tasty idea. Pinning to make xx
Thanks Sammie, the boxes are beautiful aren’t they? I’ve kept a couple as a keepsake. Looking forward to hearing how you get on and thanks for pinning. xx
Hey i don’t have a thermometer how long should I biol it for approx?
Hi, thanks for stopping by. It’s not necessarily the amount of time you boil the sugar for as this depends so much on the pan used or the heat. The best way without a thermometer is to wait until it turns a golden caramel colour, you also might notice the sound of the mixture bubbling away disappears. Be careful not to let it go too far as the caramel will turn bitter. Hope this helps, let me know how you get on.
Hi, I am from the USA and was wondering what is Golden syrup?
Hi Kathleen, thanks for stopping by. Golden syrup is an inverted sugar syrup made from cane sugar or sugar beet & I use it in the recipe to help prevent crystals forming in the caramel. I’ve just read up on corn syrup & apparently it works in the same way, so I think it would be a good substitute for this recipe. Hope this helps 🙂
I’m an expat Brit and buy my golden syrup from amazon.com. You can use corn syrup, light or dark,but frankly the flavour is just not there. Personally, my apologies to my American friends, I don’t really care for corn syrup, it has all the qualities one needs in baking but brings nothing flavor wise to any baking project; it’s so worth spending a few extra $’s to keep golden syrup and occasionally treacle in, although molasses are almost a substitute, just more liquid than treacle I have found. My 2 penneth worth!
Thanks for the info Elizabeth, having never tried corn syrup it’s useful to get some feedback from someone who is able to compare the two side by side. It’s good to know you can get hold of golden syrup in the US.
Hi can you please clarify for me is it 175g or 1 3/4 cups of sugar because there is a big difference 175g is more like 3/4 cups.
Thanks
Thanks Shannon, I’m so glad you noticed, you are right, 175 g is 3/4 cups. I’ve amended the recipe today, thanks again for popping by.
Honey comb is one of my favourites and I would quite happily eat it all year round although I have never tried to make it before. Thank you for joining us at #BloggerClubUK hope to see you again this week x
Thanks, always a pleasure to link up with Blogger Club UK & I’m sure I’ll be over soon with another blog post x
I haven’t had honeycomb in AGES! but I love it (so does my mum) I didn’t realise you could make it yourself! we are definitely going to have to give this a go! it looks so great! Thanks for linking up this week! #YumTum
Thanks Charlotte, let me know how you get on. A pleasure to link up with #YumTum x
I saw Mary Berry making this the other day and I kept meaning to find a tasty recipe! Yours looks so tasty I will definitely be giving it a go! What a lovely wedding favour to give and make too! #YumTum