SPONGE TOFFEE
Friday, September 23, 2016
A crunchy, chewy, salty-sweet candy treat that'll take you back.
TOP TEN REASONS TO MAKE SPONGE TOFFEE aka HONEYCOMB
10. If you're a child of the 50's or 60's it'll remind you of this
9. Friends and family will think you're damn clever.
8. Bees everywhere will pay homage to you, so whenever one buzzes by........
7. Your inner child will giggle for days afterwards.
6. Making it is as much fun as eating it.
5. Children and members of the opposite sex will be inexplicably drawn to you.
4. Your kitchen will smile.
3. Hippety hoppety Easter's on it's way.
2. You'll be in the running to win the coveted GOLDEN CRUNCH award.
1. You will never again be able to hide your awesomeness.
Now I've got you attention, don't I? Well I'm going to go one step further, "I double dog dare you to whisk up some sponge toffee in your very own kitchen today!"
Everytime I make this it turns out a little bit differently. The bubbles are different. Which is kind of cool. Maybe it depends whether I whisk the baking soda in a clockwise direction or un-clockwise. Not sure. But it always turns out, and it's always way fun to make.
I use Christine Cushing's recipe for a guideline. (Thanks oodles Christine) Sometimes I can't resist dipping the cooled honeycomb pieces in dark Callebaut chocolate. Happy, happy!
SPONGE TOFFEE aka HONEYCOMB
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon good vanilla
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon baking soda
1. Grease a 9 or 10 inch springform pan with a little bit of vegetable oil Line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper with a little more oil.
2. Add sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and water to a deep-ish, heavy bottomed pot. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, without stirring, and cook until hard crack stage; when the temperature on a candy thermometer reads 300F degrees. (I swirl the pot every once in awhile, just to mix things up a bit.) This should take about 8-10 minutes. During the cooking process, if there are any sugar crystals on the sides of the pot, brush the sides of the pot with a clean pastry brush dipped in water.
3. Remove from heat and working quickly, add the baking soda, whisking to incorporate. The mixture will bubble up quite a bit when you add the baking soda so be very careful not to touch the hot toffee. Immediately pour into the prepared pan. Let cool and set completely before touching. Break into pieces and serve. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
*I've found that if you dip a few pieces in a variety of white, milk and dark Callebaut chocolate, tie them up in a nice little cellophane bag with a pretty ribbon and take them along as a hostess gift, you become very popular."