Bourbon Honeycomb Candy Recipe - Pastry Chef Online (2024)

FAQs

Why is my honeycomb candy not hardening? ›

If your sugar syrup isn't hot enough, it will make your honeycomb very chewy. The best way to make sure your sugar is at the right temperature is to use a sugar thermometer. The mixture should be at the 'hard ball' stage, which is normally between 121-130 degrees Celsius.

Chewy honeycomb happens when the mixture hasn't been cooked for long enough. This is most common when you don't use a sugar thermometer.

Honeycomb candy is found all over the world. Also known as “yellowman” in Northern Ireland, “fairy food candy” in Wisconsin, and “puff candy” in Scotland, the candy is made by combining sugar, a golden syrup and bicarbonate (or baking) soda.

This homemade honeycomb candy recipe results in a sweet confection crafted from airy, caramelized sugar and baking soda that is sure to delight and impress friends and coworkers!

Instead, if it is enjoyable as is, I would suggest just eating it as a toffee like candy. Otherwise, chalk it up to experience and watch the temperature more closely next time. I have a batch of gooey toffee now too. So im just either enjoying it as is or adding bit or chunks of it to my coffee or ice cream.

Honeycomb is essentially hot toffee blended with a little bicarbonate of soda to make it bubble and foam. The mistake most first timers make is to take the syrup off the heat too soon. This makes the honeycomb sticky and doesn't allow it to set correctly.

If your homemade honeycomb candy is chewy, it is usually due to the mixture not cooking for long enough or hasn't reached 305°F. A candy thermometer is key for the recipe to ensure your honeycomb gets a crumbly, crunchy texture.

The most common mistake that leads to chewy honeycomb is taking the syrup off the heat too soon in fear of burning it. To avoid this we recommend always using a sugar thermometer and make sure you get it to 150°C before removing it from the heat.

White vinegar – one of the things that makes this candy unique is the light and airy texture of the toffee. We have the vinegar, in part, to thank for that! Vinegar reacts with the baking soda in the recipe to form little bubbles of carbon dioxide that give the honeycomb candy its airy, crisp texture.

Regionally it may be referred to as sponge candy, sea foam, fairy food candy, or old fashioned puff in the US, and in Britain, it is often called Cinder Toffee with variances of puff candy in Scotland, Yellowman in Northern Ireland and Sponge Toffee in Canada.

What is cinder toffee called in Scotland? ›

In Scotland, it's known as “puff candy,” while in New Zealand, it goes by the name “hokey pokey” and is a key ingredient in a popular ice cream flavour. Cinder toffee's appeal lies in its simple yet delightful combination of crunchy texture and sweet, slightly burnt flavour.

One of the simplest and most fun confectioneries to make at home is cinder toffee, also known as honeycomb or sponge toffee.

Honeycomb toffee is known by a wide variety of names including: cinder toffee in Britain. fairy food candy or angel food candy in Wisconsin. hokey pokey in New Zealand.

Bee propolis is a sticky, brown substance sometimes known as bee glue. The honey bees gather tree resin, the main ingredient in propolis, from buds and cracks in the bark. The bees add salivary secretions to the resin by chewing on it and add beeswax to the mix.

You may mistake this for some kind of pest or disease but the real answer is very simple – it is just honey – crystallized honey in comb.

If your candied coating isn't hardening, the candying mixture did not reach a high enough temperature.

Adding too much or too little baking soda

The resulting honeycomb does have air bubbles, but they're pretty small and not too many. You can also add too much baking soda though! If you add too much so many air bubbles are formed that a lot of them will escape from the honeycomb before it has time to set.

In hard candy making, it is important to cook all the water out of the sugar/corn syrup/water mixture. If the sugar mixture is not cooked to the proper temperature (the hard-crack stage 300-310° F {149-154° C.} or if you are working in a kitchen with high humidity, chances are your candy is retaining too much moisture.