Sponge Candy Food

SPONGE CANDY

Steps:

• Line 9-inch square cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with foil, extending foil over sides. Generously butter foil. Combine sugar, corn syrup and vinegar in heavy large deep saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking without stirring until clip-on candy thermometer registers 300°F, swirling pan occasionally, about 18 minutes. Remove from heat. Immediately add baking soda and stir until well combined (mixture will foam vigorously). Immediately pour mixture into prepared pan. Cool completely.
• Using foil as aid, lift, candy from pan; fold down foil sides. Cut or break candy into large pieces (save any small pieces or shreds to use as a topping for ice cream). (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

SPONGE TOFFEE

Steps:

• Combine the sugar, syrup, and vanilla in a medium-size saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
• Continue to cook to 300 degrees F, on a candy thermometer or hard crack stage, about 10 minutes. Cook's Note: You can use a candy thermometer or a simple trick: take a spoon and drop a tiny drizzle of the mixture into a bowl of water. If it crystallizes, you've reached the hard crack stage.
• Remove from the heat, using a wooden spoon, stir in the baking soda quickly. It will become frothy. Pour into an 8 by 8-inch/20 by 20-cm pan, lined with parchment paper and buttered.
• Let cool for about 30 minutes and break into pieces.

SPONGE CANDY

Steps:

• In a large, heavy saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and vanilla.
• Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
• Cook, without stirring, to 290-300°F.
• Remove from heat.
• Quickly stir in baking soda.
• Mix well.
• Turn into a deep, buttered 9 x 13-inch pan.
• Cool, then break into pieces.
• Dip into melted chocolate.

HONEYCOMB CANDY - AKA HOKEY-POKEY OR SPONGE CANDY

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, honey, and water, and using a wooden spoon, stir constantly over low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved.
• Put candy thermometer into the mixture to monitor temperature, increase the heat and boil mixture to exactly 270 degrees F (132C).
• Reduce heat to as low as possible and maintain the temperature 270F for exactly 15 minutes.
• It is very important that the temperature of the mixture does not fluctuate; if the temperature begins to rise, remove the pan from heat occasionally to reduce the heat.
• After the temperature has been maintained for 15 minutes, remove the pan from heat, take out the thermometer, and allow the bubbles to subside.
• Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in finely sifted baking soda.
• Immediately and quickly pour the mixture into a large oiled baking dish.
• (Please note, important: the pouring step requires strength and you'll be handling extremely hot liquids; if you're not strong and agile enough you might want to leave that step to a strong and able assistant.) When candy has completely cooled, remove from pan and break into pieces.
• Many lovers of honeycomb candy like to coat the pieces in chocolate- you can dunk the pieces into melted chocolate if you like.

SPONGE CANDY

Steps:

• Line large baking sheet with silicon mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
• Combine corn syrup and brown sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium, without stirring.
• Continue boiling over medium heat until mixture reaches 300° F, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Add baking soda. Quickly stir with silicon spatula until well incorporated, no more than 5 seconds.
• Quickly pour ingredients on prepared baking sheet.
• Let cool completely. Break into pieces.
• Store in air tight container.
• Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

SPONGE TOFFEE

Steps:

• Prepare a 9″ x 13″ cake pan with nonstick spray, or a light coating of vegetable oil or shortening. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan, stir together sugar, corn syrup, and water. Attach a candy thermometer to the pan, making sure that it does not touch the bottom of the pan.
• Bring mixture to a boil, and allow to cook until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (hard crack stage). From the time mixture starts boiling to the time it reaches 300F, do not stir.
• Once mixture reaches 300F, remove from heat.
• Add vanilla and baking soda, beating to incorporate. The mixture will start foaming quite a bit when you add the baking soda (chemical reaction!), so using a LONG wooden spoon is a good idea. The sugar will be very hot, and will burn if you get any on your hand as you stir. Be very careful and work FAST.
• Dump foaming mixture into greased cake pan, spreading it out as evenly as possible. Allow it to cool completely.
• Once toffee is cooled all the way through, remove from pan and snap into chunks / nuggets and serve.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED SPONGE CANDY

Steps:

• Grease an 8 by 8-inch baking dish with butter. Line it with 2 pieces of parchment paper so that the paper hangs off all 4 sides, and then generously grease the paper with more butter.
• Add the sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt to a heavy-bottomed, deep-sided, medium-sized saucepan.
• Heat over medium-high heat until the mixture turns amber colored, about 10 to 15 minutes. After cooking a couple minutes, carefully stir to help the sugar dissolve, but try not to get sugar crystals stuck to the sides of the pot. Once the sugar is dissolved, I recommend carefully swirling the pan (not stirring) to avoid sugar crystalizing on the sides. If you want to check the temperature, once the mixture is amber colored it should be 300F on a candy thermometer (hard-crack stage).
• Once amber colored, remove it from the heat and use a wooden spoon to stir in the baking soda and vanilla. (Be careful because the mixture will foam up.) Stir until the ingredients are fully combined, but be don't over-stir or your sponge candy will deflate.
• Pour the candy into the prepared dish and don't move the dish until the candy is fully set, about 1 to 2 hours.
• Once set, break or cut the candy into about 1 to 2-inch-sized pieces. (You will have smaller crumbs and shrapnel; it's still delicious, so don't discard it. Use it to garnish cupcakes, cake, ice cream, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, etc.)
• Melt the chocolate in a microwave or double boiler, and temper it if desired. To coat the candy, gently brush off any small crumbs on the candy and dip it in the chocolate. Place it on a wire rack so any excess chocolate can drip off.
• Let the chocolate set before serving.

HONEYCOMB TOFFEE

Steps:

• Line a baking dish with parchment paper, measure out baking soda in a small bowl, and have a heat-proof spatula ready before starting.
• Whisk sugar, corn syrup, honey, and water together in a saucepan with a candy thermometer attached. Heat over medium heat until mixture is thinner but still cloudy. Let bubble until mixture is clear and thermometer registers 300 degrees F (149 degrees C).
• Remove from heat. Whisk in baking soda until just incorporated. Switch to a spatula and very carefully pour into the lined dish. Do not spread it out with your spatula or compress mixture at all, or the bubbles will deflate. Let cool completely, at least 30 minutes.
• Remove candy from the pan by lifting out the parchment paper. Rap against the counter and use your fingers to break it into individual pieces.

SPONGE CANDY

Steps:

• Line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a medium heavy-bottomed, tall sided saucepan over medium heat, stir together the corn syrup, brown sugar, and vinegar. Stir frequently, bringing mixture to a boil.
• Once the mixture is boiling, attach a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan, making sure the tip of the thermometer is in the boiling liquid, but not touching the bottom of the pan.
• Continue to cook on medium without stirring the candy until it reaches 300°F on your candy thermometer.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the baking soda. Mixture will bubble up creating the bubbles and texture in the candy. Mix only until the baking soda is evenly combined, careful not to over-stir as this will deflate the bubbles.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan as evenly as you can. Tilt the pan around to help the candy spread, but don't hit the pan or use a spatula to spread, as this will deflate the bubbles. It's ok if it's not perfectly even.
• Sprinkle with flaked sea salt if desired, and allow the candy to cool in the pan for at least an hour.
• Remove candy from the pan using the parchment paper to lift it out and break the candy into pieces using a mallet or a knife. I don't worry too much about the pieces being perfectly shaped.

SPONGE CANDY (ANGEL FOOD, FAIRY FOOD)

Steps:

• Cook sugar, syrup, vinegar to 300 degrees F.
• Take off heat and add baking soda. Stir until well blended.
• Pour in a buttered 9"x13" pan -- DON'T TOUCH until cold.
• Melt chocolate and paraffin together. Break candy into pieces and dip chocolate paraffin mix.

FAIRY FOOD

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, corn syrup and vinegar. Bring to a boil, and heat to the hard crack stage, 300 to 310 degrees F (149 to 154 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms hard, brittle threads. Do not stir once the mixture begins to boil.
• While you wait for the sugar to come up to temperature, grease a 7x11 inch baking dish. When the mixture reaches the hard crack stage, remove from heat, and quickly stir in the baking soda with a long handled spoon; it will become very foamy. Pour immediately into the prepared dish, and set aside to cool. Cut into little pieces when cool.
• If you wish to coat the candies with chocolate, melt the chocolate chips in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. If the chocolate is too thick, some vegetable oil may be added. Dip pieces of candy in chocolate, and place on waxed paper until set.