Recipe Post: Honeycomb Toffee and Vegan Sponge Candy

This candy is a lot of fun to make, and the payoff is SO WORTH IT, but it does require a candy thermometer for best results, and it’s also DANGEROUS AS HECK to make, so not a good choice for a group project by families of youngsters.

I’ve included a recipe for both the regular version and a vegan version that doesn’t use honey; both are delicious, though I admit I strongly prefer taste of the honey version the best.

Note: I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you put your mise en place together before starting, as once this toffee hits the proper temperature, you will need to move very quickly or lose the batch and possibly injure yourself in the process (hot sugar = molten napalm).

Honeycomb/Sponge Toffee

2 cups/376g/13oz granulated sugar
½ cup/120mL/4fl.oz light corn syrup
¼ cup/60mL/2fl.oz honey
¼ cup60mL/2fl.oz water
1 heaping tbsp/16g/0.6oz baking soda

Vegan Sponge Candy

2 cups/375g/13oz granulated sugar
½ cup120mL/4fl.oz golden corn syrup
¼ cup/60mL/2fl.oz water
1 heaping tbsp/16g/0.6oz baking soda

Line a 9″x9″ high-sided baking dish with parchment paper (I crumple and straighten my paper out, so it fits better in the corners). Set baking dish aside close to your stove and accessible to you.
Place a metal whisk and the premeasured baking soda in a small dish close by you.
In a large heavy-bottomed saucepot (this will more than triple in size once the baking soda is added) over medium/high heat, combine sugar, corn syrup, honey (OMIT if using vegan recipe), and water. Stir to incorporate, then do not stir as it comes to a boil (this will avoid creating sugar crystals in your sugar syrup). Periodically swirl the pan to redistribute any hot zones.
Insert candy thermometer and continue to heat until the mixture reaches 300˚F/150˚C.
Remove from heat and WORKING QUICKLY YET CONFIDENTLY add the baking soda and quickly whisk into the sugar syrup; whisk the mixture for no more than five seconds. The mixture will begin to expand rapidly; quickly pour it AWAY FROM YOUR FACE into the prepared pan and leave it to set undisturbed for 1-2 hours. Do not spread the toffee in the pan as this will deflate it. Do not worry about scraping every last bit of toffee from the saucepot, as this yield will be deflated and damage the loft of your toffee. If you want to, you can scrape it out onto a scrap piece of parchment and consider it baker’s snacks when it cools.
Once the toffee has cooled and set, remove from pan and shatter the toffee into pieces, using your hands or the handle of a wooden spoon.