This homemade Honeycomb Candy, also known as Sponge Toffee, is a light, crunchy candy filled with hundreds of tiny bubbles. Made with just a handful of ingredients, this old-fashioned treat has a crisp, airy texture and rich caramelized honey flavor. Enjoy it plain, break it into pieces for holiday candy trays, add it to desserts or dip it in chocolate for an extra-special treat.
Do you love nostalgic candy like this that you can make at home? Then try our Caramel Corn or Peanut Brittle.
Honeycomb Candy is a crunchy toffee made by cooking sugar syrup to a high temperature and then quickly stirring in baking soda. The baking soda reacts with the hot sugar mixture, creating lots of tiny bubbles. As the candy cools and hardens, those bubbles remain trapped inside, creating the distinctive honeycomb or sponge-like texture. Depending on where you live, you may know this candy as sponge toffee, seafoam candy, sponge candy, cinder toffee, or hokey pokey.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Nostalgic treat
- No molds needed for candy making
- Love the crunchy sweetness
- Tastes like honey
- Fun for gift-giving
Helpful Items For This Recipe
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small portion from qualifying purchases at no extra charge to you.
Candy and Deep Fry Thermometer Pan Clip 12-Inch Stainless Steel
3 Ply Stainless Steel Saucepan with Lid, 3 Quart Multipurpose Cooking Pot, Stay-Cool Handle
Pyrex Easy Grab 2-Qt Glass Casserole Dish with Lid, Tempered Glass Baking Dish with Large Handles
Sponge Toffee for Halloween: I have not made this since I was a child, and I have to say it is one of my favorite candies. It reminds me of my childhood when I used to make divinity, fudge, and candies like this. It is so crunchy and yummy and melts in your mouth!! Making candy has an art to it and really is a two-man job. You can’t just walk away from it. This is something that you must be paying close attention to.
When you have something that is so incredibly hot, and the timing of getting it into a pan quickly is essential, you could use an extra set of hands. At least I found this out the hard way. Trying to balance a 3-liter pot in the air while trying to scrape out molten lava is not easy. I hope you try this for Halloween and that it brings back childhood memories for you, or you create some with your children.
Sponge Toffee Ingredients
Make crunchy Honeycomb Candy, also called Sponge Toffee, with a light, airy texture and caramel flavor. An easy homemade candy perfect for gifting that requires only 5 ingredients, and one being water!!
Ingredients
Granulated sugar and White corn syrup – These are the two needed sweet ingredients to make the toffee.
Water – This helps to dissolve the sugar evenly without clumping or burning.
Baking soda – This gives the candy its volume; be careful when adding it, as the syrup is hot. It is like the magical ingredient, as it makes the candy amazing.
Vanilla – This adds more flavor to the candy. The syrup may bubble and spit, so be careful adding this.
How to Make Homemade Sponge Toffee
Spray an 8×11″ pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
Place sugar, water, and white corn syrup in a 12-cup or 3 L saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.
Bring to a boil, and cook without stirring. Brush down the crystals on the sides with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Cook until the hard crack stage of 300F, or when 1 tsp. is dropped into water, it forms hard brittle threads, about 10 min.
Remove from the heat and, being very careful, add baking soda. Add it all at once and quickly stir with a whisk. It will increase dramatically, but just keep whisking; add the vanilla in now. Don’t over-stir at this point.
Working quickly, pour toffee into the prepared pan. Let cool without disturbing until completely cool, about 2 hours. Break into pieces.
Make ahead, store in an airtight container between layers of waxed paper for 1 week.
Recipe Pro Tips
Pro Tips for Perfect Honeycomb candy
Measure everything first. Once the candy reaches temperature, you’ll need to work quickly.
Use a large saucepan. The mixture expands dramatically when you add the baking soda, so give it plenty of room.
Use fresh baking soda. You want a strong reaction to create plenty of bubbles.
Don’t overmix. Stir the baking soda in quickly, but don’t continue stirring once it’s incorporated. If stirred too much, you will then deflate the bubbles.
Don’t flatten the candy. Pour it into the prepared pan and leave it alone. Spreading or pressing can knock out the air bubbles.
Keep it dry. Humidity is the enemy of honeycomb candy and can make it sticky.
Be extremely careful. Hot sugar syrup can cause serious burns. Avoid touching or tasting the candy until it is completely cool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is honeycomb candy the same as sponge toffee?
They’re commonly used as names for the same general type of aerated sugar candy, although ingredients and terminology can vary by region.
Does honeycomb candy contain honey?
Not necessarily. Some recipes use honey, but the name often refers to the candy’s honeycomb-like interior and that it does taste like honey.
What makes honeycomb candy puff up?
Baking soda reacts in the hot sugar mixture and produces gas bubbles, causing the candy to foam and expand.
Can I make honeycomb without a candy thermometer?
It can be done, but a thermometer provides much more consistent results.
How do you keep honeycomb candy crunchy?
Keep it away from moisture and humidity, and store it in an airtight container at room temperature.
Can honeycomb candy be dipped in chocolate?
Absolutely. Milk, dark, and semi-sweet chocolate all pair wonderfully with the caramelized candy. If it is covered in chocolate, it can be frozen; otherwise, it is not recommended.
WANT MORE TREATS FOR HALLOWEEN?
How we love Halloween and making all the wonderful treats that go with it.
Pin it HERE!!
Pin it HERE!!
Honeycomb Toffee (Sponge Toffee) Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup white corn syrup
- 1/3 cup water
- 4 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
- Spray an 8×11" pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place sugar, water, and white corn syrup in a 12-cup or 3 L saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.
- Bring to a boil, and cook without stirring. Brush down the crystals on the sides with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Cook until the hard crack stage of 300F, or when 1 tsp. is dropped into water it forms hard brittle threads, about 10 min.
- Remove from the heat and, being very careful, add baking soda. Add it all at once and quickly stir with a whisk. It will increase dramatically, but just keep whisking; add the vanilla in now. Don't over-stir at this point.
- Working quickly, pour toffee into the prepared pan. Let cool without disturbing until completely cool, about 2 hours. Break into pieces.
- Make ahead, store in an airtight container between layers of waxed paper for 1 week.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Canadian Living.
Comments & Reviews
Lindsay says
Made this tonight and it worked out perfectly!! Now only if I didn’t have to wait till tomorrow to try it ; ) Question for the next time though, about how long are you suppose to whisk it once you’ve added the baking soda and vanilla? I whisked until fully mixed in and rising at a quick pace, probably about 20 seconds total and then added it to my pan. Does that seem sufficient? Thank you !!
Tara Noland says
Yes, that sounds just right, you have to work quickly. Enjoy!
Sue says
Everything went perfect. But now I have to take a hammer to it to get it out of the dish. It also doesn’t have the bubbles in between. It’s more like toffee then taffy. What went wrong?
Tara Noland says
Candy can be tricky and may need a few attempts. I added in preparing the pan which I seem to have omitted. I think one problem could be that your baking soda is old and did not activate. You also have to carefully get to that hard crack stage and not below or above. Try again and I hope your results are better.
HannahBear 48 says
so is it a must that you make it a month before?
Tara Noland says
Not at all, you can store it for that long but you can make and eat it right away.
Dave T says
Have tried using a recipe of 1 cup sugar, 1 cup normal yellow corn syrup, 1 tablespoon vanilla and one tablespoon baking soda. cooked to 305f, The vanilla mixed into the sugars before turning on stove. Whisk in the Baking soda, stir with a wooden spoon (using a metal whisk will cause the mix to cool fast and REALLY stick to the whisk). I pour it into a silicon brownie pan and let cool. Comes out very nice.
Looking forward to trying this recipe…but the white corn syrup is hard to come by…..
Dave T says
Have tried using a recipe of 1 cup sugar, 1 cup normal yellow corn syrup, 1 tablespoon vanilla and one tablespoon baking soda. cooked to 305f, The vanilla mixed into the sugars before turning on stove. Whisk in the Baking soda, stir with a wooden spoon (using a metal whisk will cause the mix to cool fast and REALLY stick to the whisk). I pour it into a silicon brownie pan and let cool. Comes out very nice.
Looking forward to trying this recipe…but the white corn syrup is hard to come by…..
sabrina says
Made this and it didnt rise at all. Its very dense and hard but only wisked about ten seconds. Seemed to sink once I placed it in pan. Please help
Noshing with the Nolands says
Hmm, did it bubble and froth at all? Did you add enough baking soda? Was your baking soda old?
sabrina says
It did froth but seemed to settle very quickly when placed in the pan. Some sites say to not stir too much. Should I add the vanilla before the baking soda?
Noshing with the Nolands says
No don’t stir it too much and you have to work very quickly from the time you add the baking soda. Then quickly the vanilla and put it into the pan. You may have waited too long.
Kari@Loaves and Dishes says
Sponge Toffee was one of my faves as a kid. This brings back memories, Who knew that it was so simple to make?
Cindys Recipes says
Tara, in the ingredients you say baking soda, in the instructions you say baking powder. Just wanted you to know, 🙂
Noshing with the Nolands says
Thank you so much, it is baking soda and I fixed it. So appreciated!!