Best Honeycomb Toffee Candy

4.4
(35)

This fun honeycomb candy goes by many names; cinder toffee, sponge candy, and my personal favorite, "hokey pokey," but no matter what you call it, this eye-catching confection is a proven crowd-pleaser. Thousands of bubbles, trapped in the cooling sugar syrup, give this the most interesting melt-in-your-mouth texture. As long as you're very careful and heat the syrup up to the correct temp, there's not a lot that can go wrong with this recipe.

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Close up on a stack of broken honeycomb toffee.
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Prep Time:
10 mins
Cook Time:
10 mins
Additional Time:
30 mins
Total Time:
50 mins
Servings:
8

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • ½ cup white sugar

  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup

  • 2 tablespoons water

  • 1 tablespoon honey

Directions

  1. Gather all ingredients.

    All ingredients gathered and measured out.

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  2. Line a baking dish with parchment paper, measure out baking soda in a small bowl, and have a heat-proof spatula ready before starting.

  3. 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).

    Sugar, corn syrup, water and honey whisked together in a saucepan.

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

    Mixture bubbling until clear and thermometer registers 300 degrees F.

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  4. Remove from heat. Whisk in baking soda until just incorporated.

    Mixture removed from heat and baking soda added.

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

     Baking soda whisked until just incorporated.

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  5. 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.

    Mixture carefully poured into prepared dish.

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  6. 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.

    Candy lifted out of the pan and broken into individual pieces.

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Looking at a stack of broken honeycomb toffee.

Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

Recipe Tips

For bigger bubbles, use up to 2 teaspoons baking soda, keeping in mind there might be an aftertaste. Do not use baking powder!

You can substitute an equal amount of golden syrup for the corn syrup if desired.

You can also check the temperature of the sugar syrup 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 Facts (per serving)

71 Calories
19g Carbs
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 8
Calories 71
% Daily Value *
Sodium 161mg 7%
Total Carbohydrate 19g 7%
Total Sugars 16g
Calcium 1mg 0%
Potassium 2mg 0%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.

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