I never considered making Honeycomb Candy until I saw it at Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago. The cross-section was what caught my attention -- it was thick and pretty and left enough of an impression to motivate me to start researching the candy that same evening. Turns out it's pretty much the same thing as Seafoam candy or Angel Food candy which are two candies that have been around forever. I'm guessing I tried making it as a kid and ruined it and blocked it out of my memory forever. Who knows? At any rate, I was ready for another go.
To get started, I went through dozens of recipes and settled on this version from allrecipes.com. It's called Angel Food Candy but looked like what I saw at Whole Foods and had good reviews. For the first round I followed it as written with the dark corn syrup and 300 degree temp. It tasted pretty good, but oddly enough I liked it a little better without the chocolate.
For the second round I used half brown sugar and half white and used light corn syrup instead of dark. The candy was good, but the original candy made with the dark corn syrup was more robust and flavorful. The trick is not to burn it, so make sure you use a thick saucepan that conducts heat evenly. It appears there are a lot of different ways to make Honeycomb Candy (also known as Angel Candy or Seafoam Candy), so if you have any tricks or tips or new recipes, let me know. I think the next one on my list will be this version from Epicurious, so I'll let you know how the two compare.
Recipe
Honeycomb Candy
Ingredients
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 1 cup regular granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon baking soda sifted
- Dark chocolate chopped (up to a pound)
Instructions
- Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with nonstick foil.
- In a medium saucepan (mine was 3 quarts) over medium heat, combine sugar, corn syrup and vinegar and stir for about 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves and mixture appears shiny and smooth. Continue cooking over medium heat, without stirring, to 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. At exactly 300 degrees, remove from heat and stir in baking soda. Pour into prepared pan and let it fan out, but do not spread. Let the candy cool, then break it into chunks.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave using 50% power and stirring every 30 seconds or in the top of a double boiler. Dip chunks of candy in the chocolate and let it set.
Beth says
Wow! Never heard of these!!! I'll have to try this recipe !
winnie says
Once while trying to replicate ice cream I had in New Zealand, I added a generous amount crushed honeycomb candy to homemade vanilla ice cream along with some chocolate chunks. It was so good, everyone loved it. I need to make it again. I think I will leave out the chocolate next time.
winnie says
Once while trying to replicate ice cream I had in New Zealand, I added a generous amount crushed honeycomb candy to homemade vanilla ice cream along with some chocolate chunks. It was so good, everyone loved it. I need to make it again. I think I will leave out the chocolate this time.
Mela says
Hi Anna, have you tried Martha Stewart's recipe for Honey Comb? I've tried several recipes, but that is the only one that works for me.
Erin says
OH, you beat me to the link. I better have a faster draw next time. Suddenly I'm struck with an urge to get in the kitchen and get some crunchie rocks going. (I see now that it is crunchie, not crunchy. I'm full or errors today...and usually everyday.)
I would do it now, except that I'm making a chocolate cake for my son's birthday. That must be eaten before the next sweet can enter the scene. But maybe next week? It would be fun to make them for Valentine's Day.
Anna says
Hi Erin! Right after you posted your comment I started searching for Crunchy Rocks. Looks like this lady has a copy cat, and I'm definitely going to try it in the very near future. The Allrecipes.com basic recipe was good, but I may try making the Epicurious version and then using that as a base. Here's the link to Christina, who made "Crunchie Rocks". http://christinascucina.com/2012/06/homemade-crunchie-rocks-chocolates.html
Erin says
Anna, here's a link to someone who attempted homemade crunchy rocks, although she used purchased honeycomb candy. Anyway, it might give you an idea!
Crunchy Rocks are just so yummy!
Erin says
Anna, there is a candy in London that Sailor and I absolutely love. It's called Crunchy Rocks and I believe it is just crumbled honeycomb candy ad cornflakes, coated with chocolate and shaped into small clusters. I've had it on my list to attempt a homemade version, but somehow haven't gotten to it yet. When I do, I'll use your recipe as my honeycomb base. Maybe you might attempt crunchy rocks before i do? I hope so because then you will perfect it and post about it!
Rebecca says
I love honeycomb candy! I especially like it dipped in a flavored chocolate, such as orange. The chocolate acts as a good seal against moisture too.
Anna says
Ben, that sounds great! I think the next time I make this candy I'm going to try the recipe from Epicurious.
I like honeycomb candy, but I think soft peanut brittle (aka "peanut butter brittle") is even better.
Ben says
Speaking of toppings for honeycomb candy, I have heard that white chocolate combined with this is pretty amazing. I haven't tried it yet, but did like milk and dark chocolates with sea salt.
Anna says
Kim, I don't know enough about it to say. You'd probably want to just pour the candy over them at the end so they wouldn't burn.
Kim F says
Ohhh, fun. I saw Nigella Lawson make this on a cooking show and I forgot all about it. I Googled it just now and she called it Hokey Pokey. Do you think it would be good to add nuts to this recipe?