Update it is incredibly important that your toffee really does reach hard crack stage, which is 154c, or else it may sink after rising. Further refining of the sugar occurs in various stages ending in a final. A recipe for honeycomb aka cinder toffee eat like a girl. Sep 24, 2010 the science and magic of cinder toffee. These cupcakes will wow your friends and colleagues. Place the butter, water, and vinegar into a large saucepan.
The critical point is to heat the sugar to a stage called hard crack around. It is known as fairy food or angel food candy in wisconsin and sponge candy in new york, pennsylvania and canada. Reviews and comments for cinder toffee all recipes uk. Sure the hard crack is the right stage, but its less accurate than the thermometer in the end. Remove the toffee from the heat, and gently stir in. Ive just made homemade toffee for the first time it tastes lovely and creamy but not hardening. Oct 30, 2014 how to make the perfect cinder toffee.
Carefully drop a tiny spoonful of the hot syrup into icecold water. Put the sugars, syrup, water and butter in a deep, heavybottomed pan with a pinch of salt. A friend of mine has been making cinder toffee or honeycomb toffee as its also known as for years ive saw her pictures on facebook and had to learn how to make it. The science and magic of cinder toffee andy connelly. Toffee is made from sugar mixed with milk, butter or cream plus an ingredient such as lemon juice or golden syrup to stop it crystallising. Its one of the many great recipes shared by home cooks on, the worlds sweetest recipe swap community. Puff candy cinder toffee how to make toffee cooking. Combine water, sugar, corn syrup, vinegar, and vanilla in the prepared pot. Depending on the recipe, a toffee mixture may be cooked to anywhere from 236 degrees f to 300 degrees f measured with a candy thermometer, or called the hard ball stage. Mix the caster sugar and golden syrup in the saucepan. Cinder toffee, or honeycomb toffee, is a traditional treat loved by children and grown ups alike. If you dont have a candy thermometer, you can use the cold water test in a pinch. Though a candy thermometer will give you the best results, if you dont have one handy, theres a simple way to tell if the mixture has reached the hardcrack stage.
Do not try a plastic spoon, it will melt into your delicious candy. Boil until it reaches hard crack stage which my thermometer shows as being just under 150c. Honeycomb toffee cinder toffee recipe by archanas kitchen. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300 hardcrack stage. Other parts of the globe refer to it as cinder toffee, sponge toffee, honey comb, puff candy, hokey pokey or yellow man. Bonfire toffee is the absolute treat on bonfire night, the 5th of november. Investing in a sugar thermometer is worthwhile and will help you ensure that the toffee comes up to the correct temperature as it boils, which is important to achieve the delicious cinder flavour. Toffee is a confection made by boiling molasses or sugar creating inverted sugar along with butter, and occasionally flour. Most recipes suggest you take it to hard crack stage, or about 8140c 280284f, though stewart goes even higher, to 150c, and hope and greenwood rely. In fact, i have fond memories of making it as a child. Heat gently, stirring, until the sugars and butter have. To test whether the concotion is at hard crack stage, wait until it is bubbling and turning a caramel brown, then put a spoonful on a plate and if it solidifies and cracks when you tap it, well youre done. The bicarboante of soda reacts to create bubbles and as the candy sets the bubbles should remain in the candy. Remember your stages of sugar boiling and how they come out, if its too sticky.
Honeycomb toffee cinder toffee recipe is also known as angel food, hokey pokey, sponge toffee or sea mist candy. Its one of the many great recipes shared by home cooks on, the. The brittle and hokey pokey recipes are similar and both rely on boiling sugar and syrup to a high enough temperature to remove almost all of the water. Drop a little of the molten syrup in cold water and it will form hard, brittle threads that break when bent. Heat and stir until the sugar completely dissolves. Candy making includes the preparation of many various candies, such as hard candies, jelly beans, gumdrops, taffy, liquorice, cotton candy, chocolates and chocolate truffles, dragees, fudge, caramel candy and toffee. Sponge toffeehoneycomb homemade crunchie bars with.
Of course most of you wont, but i did, and i had a nice cascade of blisters on my arm. Each kind of candy requires different levels of hardness, with fudge needing to remain soft while. If you love cadbury crunchie bars, dip your toffee pieces in chocolate. Heat to hard crack temperature see below, place the bottom of the saucepan into your sink to stop the cooking and then add the bicarb, stirring with a wooden spoon. Candy making or candymaking is the preparation and cookery of candies and sugar confections. I sat mine on top of a diffuser mat to dissolve the sugar, then whipped it away to boil the syrup to the hard crack stage.
Ill try stirring it into icecream so the cold helps stop it taking my fillings out. Try our chocolate truffles, baklava, easy toffee apples or cinder toffee before moving on to more advanced techniques. The hardness of candy can make a big difference to the success or otherwise of an individual candy recipe. Aug 15, 2014 sponge toffee is very crunchy but melts in your mouth. The mixture is heated to between 140c and 154c soft crack stage and hard crack stage, then allowed to cool and set. Boil until it reaches the hard crack stage the temperature on a sugar thermometer reads 149 154 degrees c, about 10 minutes. If you dont have a sugar thermometer, you can test if you have reached the hard crack stage by taking a small amount of the boiling sugar and dropping it in to a tall glass of cold water if you have reached the correct temperature, the sugar will set into brittle strands and snap.
Honeycomb toffee is known as various names such as hokey pokey, cinder toffee, sponge toffee, crunchie, seafoam or golden crunchers. I did the hard crack test as i dont have a sugar thermometer but it seems it wasnt quite done enough because though its set solid, when i chew it i could easily lose a filling. This sea foam candy sponge or cinder toffee recipe is so delicious and full of flavor. Honeycomb toffee south african food eatmee recipes. The molten sugar mixing with bicarbonate of soda to form this pillowy mass which sets rock hard is pure alchemy. Bring to a boil and let bubble until candy thermometer reaches 300 f just about hard crack stage. It turns out that, whatever the name may imply, burnt cinder toffee is not good. Most recipes suggest you take it to hard crack stage, or about 8140c 280284f, though stewart goes even higher, to. To test whether the concotion is at hard crack stage, wait until it is bubbling and turning a caramel brown, then put a spoonful on a plate and if it solidifies and cracks when you. Ok weve tried twice and just got butterscotch, which although yummy is not cinder toffee it froths up and then sinks.
Drop a spoonful of hot syrup into cold water, then remove the candy from the water and attempt to bend it. Cinder toffee line a roasting tin with parchment paper. New old fashioned corn fritters 100 year old recipe the hillbilly kitchen duration. Cinder toffee also known as hokey pokey, puff candy or even sea foam, depending on where you are in the world is best described, to the uninitiated, as that stuff you get inside a crunchie bar. If you get sugar crystals forming up the sides of the pan you can use a pastry brush dipped in water to wipe them away i guess this is to stop them burning and ruining the toffee.
It is a sweet, light toffee with an airy sponge like texture that has a beautiful crunch to it. Nigellas hokey pokey from nigella express and on the nigella website is made from sugar that is cooked to the hard crack stage and then has bicarbonate of soda baking soda stirred into it. Oct 15, 2010 this video was uploaded from an android phone. Cinder toffee also known as honeycomb is a hard, but light toffee full of air bubbles. The hard crack stage is the highest temperature you are likely to see specified in a candy recipe. Tip in the bicarbonate of soda and mix briskly for 5 seconds, ensuring. Remove the toffee from the heat, and gently stir in the bicarbonate of soda. At these temperatures, there is almost no water left in the syrup. Hard crack 150c toffee will form brittle threads that easily break when removed from the water. Do not try a plastic spoon, it will melt into your. Boiling it too long hard crack stage so its too heavy. I have a jam thermometer as i am that kind of kitchen geek, but dont worry if you dont. Oct 14, 2012 hard crack 150c toffee will form brittle threads that easily break when removed from the water.
While being prepared, toffee is sometimes mixed with nuts or raisins. But yet this simple candy is a perfect gift recipe and worth taking bite after bite. The toffee is also known as plot toffee, understandably because of guy fawkes and his plot to blow up the houses of parliament. This recipe is for malted cinder toffee, which is a really brittle and crunchy form of toffee, similar to honeycomb. Put all of the ingredients except the bicarbonate of soda into a nonstick saucepan.
Learn more about the hard crack stage in the candy making process. Place on the stove on a low heat until the sugar has melted. Making your own toffee isnt hard but you need to be patient and remember not to stir the caramel as it boils. Most recipes suggest you take it to hard crack stage, or about 8140c 280284f, though stewart goes even higher, to 150c, and hope and greenwood. Honeycomb, the dessert classic that is sometimes called cinder toffee, sometimes. If you dont allow the sugar to reach this temperature before cooling, the texture will be different. Boil until it reaches the hard crack stage the temperature on a. It is when syrup is dropped into ice water and forms a hard ball which holds its shape on removal but is still plastic. Timing is definitely of the essence with this process, and there is a very fine line between toffee at hard crack stage and burnt, once you think the toffee is nearing hard crack stage its best to immediately remove the saucepan from the heat. Remember when cooking with caramel, take extra care hard crack stage is 300f. Toffee, nut brittles, and lollipops are all cooked to the hardcrack stage. Bring to a boil, cover and boil approximately 3 minutes, and then uncover and boil until temperature reaches 285 degrees f. Turn up the heat and, without stirring, boil the sugar syrup until it has reached the hard crack stage. Pour into oiled or buttered tin and either allow to set as a slab or mark in squares as toffee becomes partially set.
Cook to hardcrack stage 300f stirring with a wooden spoon constantly and watching carefully. Nov 19, 2015 the toffee is made by bringing a mixture of sugars to the hard crack stage and then quickly stirring in a small amount of bicarbonate of soda to produce effervescence. This what chefs refer to as the hard crack stage, resulting in a firm candy with a good snap. If your syrup has reached the hard crack stage, it will form brittle strands in the water and crack as you bend it. Most recipes suggest you take it to hard crack stage, or about 8140c 280 284f, though stewart goes even higher, to 150c, and hope and. A further difference between taffy and toffee is that taffy is pulled. Homemade seafoam candy all roads lead to the kitchen. How to make the perfect cinder toffee food the guardian. Once the sugar and syrup mixture is boiling you need to watch the saucepan very carefully. Honeycomb toffee, sponge toffee, cinder toffee or hokey pokey is a sugary toffee with a light, rigid, spongelike texture.
Make sure crystallization of sugar is totally avoided. Apr 07, 2009 update it is incredibly important that your toffee really does reach hard crack stage, which is 154c, or else it may sink after rising. The toffee is made by bringing a mixture of sugars to the hard crack stage and then quickly stirring in a small amount of bicarbonate of soda to produce effervescence. Undercooked candy is gooeychewy and overcooked candy is bitter. Bring the mixture to the boil and allow to boil without stirring it until the mass reaches the hard crack stage on your candy thermometer. The secret to making golden honeycomb with a satisfying shatter is in. If your syrup has reached the hardcrack stage, it will form brittle strands in the water and crack as you bend it. I generally like to get to at least 150, to ensure its reached the right stage, but be careful as itll climb quickly once it gets past 145ish. This recipe is easy to prepare and yields a full flavored, crunchy toffee that has just a little stickiness when chewed.
To test for the hard crack stage drop about 12 teaspoon of the mixture into a cup of cold water, if it is hard then it is done, if still soft and chewy cook for a little longer and test again. Toffee, nut brittles, and lollipops are all cooked to the hard crack stage. The science and magic of cinder toffee andy connelly science. Its main ingredients are typically brown sugar, corn syrup or molasses or golden syrup in the commonwealth of nations and baking soda, sometimes with an acid such as vinegar. Bring to boil and continue to cook without stirring. The mixture is then poured into a suitably prepared tin and as it cools, the air bubbles are trapped in the sugar, thus giving it its distinctive structure.
For making cinder toffee you need the sugar to form a hard ball that cracks on contact with the cold water referred to as the hard crack temperature. Cook to hard crack stage 300f stirring with a wooden spoon constantly and watching carefully. Be careful the mixture will be unbelievably hot, and very dangerous if there are children or pets around. Irresistible malted cinder toffee recipe the crafty. Gently heat the mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar has dissolved and syrup has melted. Honeycomb goes by other sames such as cinder toffee or bonfire candy but none of. For making cinder toffee you need the sugar to form a hard ball that. Apr 04, 2016 the toffee is made by bringing a mixture of sugars to the hard crack stage and then quickly stirring in a small amount of bicarbonate of soda to produce effervescence. Ive been reading tips but see theyre a little dated so wondering if its still ok to put back in the pan to reheat after its been in the fridge.
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