Honeycomb candy, sponge toffee, cinder toffee, hokey pokey… Whatever you call it*, this recipe yields a sweet crunchy candy with hallmark honeycomb-esque bubbles. Today I’ll be walking you through all of my tips for making this Honeycomb recipe in your own kitchen. I’ve also included a brief how-to video!
This is the second candy recipe in my series this week. Yesterday I shared my toffee recipe… stay tuned for more!
Welcome to candy recipe #2 for this week: Honeycomb candy!
Just 4 ingredients (sugar, corn syrup, water, and baking soda) are all that are needed to make this classic favorite. With its sweet golden exterior and those telltale honeycomb-styled bubbles, this recipe is popular all over the world under many different names.
My personal favorite way to enjoy this honeycomb recipe is to prepare it, break it into pieces, and then dip or drizzle with chocolate. Let’s go through some important tips, and then let me know your favorite way to enjoy!
Tips for Making Honeycomb Candy
If you’re following along with every recipe this week, I’m going to sound like a broken record with some of these tips. While they may be repetitive, they can make all the difference when you’re making your candy, so they’re worth reading over again (and again)!
Have everything ready before you begin.
You’ll be cooking your honeycomb mixture to 300°, but once it reaches that temperature you need to move fast or your candy will burn as the temperature continues to climb. Have your baking soda nearby and have your pan already prepared, that way once your thermometer reads 300F you are ready to roll.
Stop stirring once your mixture starts boiling
The temptation to keep stirring your syrup once it starts boiling is real, but it’s completely unnecessary with this honeycomb recipe. So long as you’re keeping your stovetop temperature at medium heat, it won’t burn.
However, don’t walk away from your candy! It takes time (more on that in a minute) but as soon as you turn your head for just a single minute to send one single simple text message (with the perfect gifs and all) to your sister, it will rocket up past 300°F and your candy will burn and you’ll have a mess and will have to start all over… ask me how I know.
Good candy takes time
The syrup will boil for a while. How long exactly will vary depending on your stovetop heat and the pan you use, but it does take time and a little patience. Don’t be tempted to turn up your heat past the medium temperature indicated in the recipe, or you’re more likely to scorch and ruin your honeycomb.
Can You Make Honeycomb with Baking Powder?
Unfortunately, no. You will need baking soda to make this honeycomb recipe and to get those signature bubbles.
How Long Can You Store Honeycomb Candy?
Honeycomb can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to one week. It tends to absorb moisture in the air and become sticky so it will not last as long in a more humid environment. Do not refrigerate your honeycomb.
Enjoy!
More Candy Recipes You May Enjoy
How to Make Honeycomb Candy:
Honeycomb Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ⅓ cup light corn syrup (80ml)
- ⅓ cup water (80ml)
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- chocolate for dipping or drizzling optional, you can use melted chocolate chips, chocolate bars, or melting wafers
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 square pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Before you begin, be sure to measure out your baking soda and set it aside, you will need to have it ready once your honeycomb candy comes to the correct temperature.
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until the sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a boil (this will take some time, don't turn up the heat above medium to speed up the process or you could ruin your candy).
- Once mixture begins to boil, attach your candy thermometer (make sure the tip of the thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pan) and don’t stir any longer.
- Without stirring, cook to 300°F (149°C). Once mixture reaches temperature (it will still be clear at this point, it is supposed to be), immediately remove from heat and stir in your baking soda (heads-up! It's going to bubble up quite a bit).
- The mixture will immediately begin to foam, stir until baking soda is completely combined and the color turns golden, but don't over-stir or you'll end up deflating your candy and won't have any holes.
- Once foaming stops and baking soda is dissolved into the mixture, spread into prepared pan. Cool at least 1 hour before breaking into pieces (you may be able to use your hands, or whack it with a knife or use a mallet to tap a knife into the honeycomb to break).
- If desired, dip or drizzle cooled broken honeycomb pieces with melted chocolate.
Notes
Tip for Cleaning Your Saucepan after Making Honeycomb:
Honeycomb hardens quickly, which means it can leave your saucepan a mess. Here's how I clean mine: Let your pan cool (you don't want to warp it by putting cool water in a scorching hot pot) and then fill it over halfway with water. Return it to the stovetop and bring to a boil and the candy should melt away from the sides (use a heatproof spatula to help scrape the sides while it's warm). Pour out the water/candy mixture and allow it to cool before cleaning properly.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
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*I’ve also heard some people call this candy “Seafoam”, but for me seafoam candy has always been synonymous with Divinity.
MaryAnn
Simple and amazing. Been looking for the perfect recipe since I’ve had the candy bars 20 year’s ago.
Kristen
Very easy to follow recipe! Came out great but I used an old fashioned candy thermometer and I think I slightly overcooked it. My family still thought it was tasty. We’re planning on crumbling it over some flan or ice cream!
Renee
How can I make this more airy/honeycomb like instead of a denser sponge look?
Sam
Hi Renee! The best tip is to not over-mix after adding the baking soda. That being said, it won’t be much airier than the pictures. I’m not sure how that would be accomplished.
Sierra Powers
I really enjoyed this recipe and it worked well for my first time making anything similar to this. Some advice I would highly emphasize is not overmixing the baking soda in because when there is no air it removes the positive eating experience. I would also say to pour out the honeycomb in a very thin layer because it is difficult to spread after it has been poured.
Lisa S
What do you mean by “heavy bottom” pan? Is a pot that says stainless steel tri ply clad heavy enough?
Sam
Hi Lisa! A heavy bottom saucepan is a saucepan with a thicker bottom. This allows for even distribution of heat. Some saucepans are thinner than others and can cause uneven heating. I’m not sure exactly what your pot is so I can’t really tell.
ruth eagle
Well I’m making this for the first time. I’ve ate it before. Also it’s not much different than making hard rock candy which I’ve made hundreds of times before. I decided to add half a dram of loranns cinnamon. It’s amazing. This might be my favorite quick treat from now on.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Ruth! 🙂
Jenica
Hi there,
I tried making it twice tonight but it never got hard. It’s more like taffy.
I’m not sure what I did wrong,
Temperature not high enough maybe? Did I stir it too much? Not enough? I didn’t stir it once I poured it in the pot.
Sam
Hi Jenica! It sounds like the proper temperature wasn’t reached, I would check that your candy thermometer is accurate.
Jenica
I figured it out! I bought a new thermometer and realized I had been stirring it after it started boiling. It turned out pretty good but now I have another question. I’ve made two more batches and I can’t seem to get all the baking powder mixed in completely before it turns golden, when it dries it has little dark spots from where it wasn’t completely stirred. I’m worried about over stirring it and having it get all deflated?
Is it normal to have a few dark spots? They do taste more strongly of baking soda.
Sam
Is your baking soda clumping? This is odd. You could try sifting it first or if your baking soda is old you might just want to replace it. 🙂
Maura Bennett
I followed the recipe to a t. It turned out so good. I drizzled some pieces with dark chocolate and some with milk chocolate. Will definitely use this recipe again.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Maura! 🙂
Terry
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Cook Mode option! It’ll sure make it a whole lot easier to follow the steps without having to worry about my phone timing out.
Thanks for this gadget! Wish everyone else would follow suit.
Just happen to have all the ingredients for this on hand. And a down-the-hall neighbor who loves the stuff.
Sam
I’m so glad you like it, Terry! I thought it could be really helpful. 🙂
Mon
Can i skip the corn syrup? 🥺🥺
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Mon! Skipping the corn syrup entirely wouldn’t work for this candy, but others have had success replacing half of the corn syrup with honey. Remember, we’re not using high fructose corn syrup here! We hope you love this recipe, Mon 🙂
Donna
Can you add nuts to this recipe
Sam
Hi Donna! I have never tried it so I honestly don’t know how it would work. 🙁
Erinn
If you add peanuts, you almost then just have peanut brittle. The peanuts seem to retard some/most of the foaming action, and so it’s missing the signature holes of honeycomb. Although, thinking out loud here, in peanut brittle, you add peanuts at 250F and stir constantly until 300, and then pour out on a tray; and so perhaps if you added the peanuts at the way end instead, you might get better preservation of the holes, making it less like peanut brittle and more like honeycomb with peanuts.
Nicole
Hi Sam! I have a weird question. Would I be able to make this recipe with actual honey in it? Would you taste it? Or would it just mess up the process?
Sam
Hi Nicole! I haven’t tried using honey myself, but others have replaced half of the corn syrup with honey and have had success. 🙂
Roy
You can substitute honey in place of the corn syrup and it will work out fine.
Lanae
Worked out perfect! Thank you!
Madeline
Hi! I can t get corn syrup, is it possble to use liquid glucose instead? Thank you so much.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Madeline! We haven’t tried this, but we think it would work fine. You may need to add a few extra teaspoons of water, since liquid glucose contains less water than corn syrup. If you do try it, would you please let us know how it works? 😊
Madeline
Well, huge succes, I added water and creme tartar to bicarb as I cannot really understand how bicarb could bubble without an acid. They sell it under different names, baking soda, baking powder, very confusing. It turned out perfect, crunchy and great caramel taste. Next time I shall make it with salt, cannot wait too long 😊
Thank you so much for your answer.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! Thanks so much for letting us know how it turned out for you, Madeline! 🙂
JP
I made one and a half times the recipe since I only had a 9×13 pan, and just as it got about 270 degrees I panicked that this didn’t have any actual honey like some other recipes did so I threw in 3T honey and hoped for the best. 🙂 It came out amazing. It tastes like golden grahams cereal. Well, it tasteD like golden grahams cereal. We’ve eaten all of it so now I need to make more.
Super easy to do and now I don’t have to be sad at how hard it is to get violet crumble candy in the US.
We also got a slightly darker top and bottom layer as another commented mentioned, but it didn’t seem to be any different in consistancy, just color.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Marcena Hinojosa
I think they have violet crumble candy in World Market stores in the US. I know they have other Australian, Finish, Swedish, etc candies available. Isn’t the violet crumble the one with honeycomb covered in a layer of chocolate? I think I actually saw those recently here in Dallas . Check World Markets maybe?
Melissa
Ming got kind of cruncy, but stuck to our teeth really bad. Is it because i stirred it while boiling? Or entirely replaced cir syrup for honey?
Sam
Hi Melissa! Honeycomb is a pretty stick to your teeth, crunchy kind of dessert, with that being said, the honey replacement could have made it worse. It doesn’t quite work the same as the corn syrup here.
Ron Parks
Great, easy to follow instruction! Thank you
Sam
really good. Kinda like a sucker but way better
Kathy
I made your recipe today. I doubled the ingredients with no problem otherwise followed as written.
After it set I noticed it took some effort to break it up. I used a big knife. The flavor was great but there was a hard, thin, shiny layer on both top and bottom which was hard to bite through.
I plan on using the candy in ice cream and don’t want anyone to break a tooth!
Is this the way it comes out or did I do something wrong? I used a regular candy thermometer but just ordered a digital one in case my old one is incorrect.
Sam
Hi Kathy! Honestly I’m a little stumped as to what could have happened here. Does it look like the pictures?
Cady
Same thing happened to me last night. Next time, I think I’ll sift the baking soda in so it mixes in quicker, as I think I may have over stirred it trying to get it mixed in completely.