Chocolate Covered Cinder Toffee (Honeycomb)
A Modern Classic...
Cinder toffee or honeycomb doesn't actually date back that far in comparison to a lot of the other dishes I have shared so far. It appears to have originated from the north-east of England and southern Scotland. It looks like it only came into existence around 1915 although it was popularized in 1929 when J.S Fry and Sons released the Crunchie bar. Fry was ultimately bought by Cadbury and we now recognize the sweet as the Cadbury's Crunchie.
Although it has a very young heritage, cinder toffee has become extremely popular especially around bonfire night and Halloween in the UK. It has internationally been adopted, including in Australia, America, New Zealand and Canada. It has even been sold as street food in Asia, especially during the 70's and 80's.
It is actually extremely easy to make however precision and speed are everything. Some foods are an artform to make and some are a science, cinder toffee is definitely the latter.
Although it has a very young heritage, cinder toffee has become extremely popular especially around bonfire night and Halloween in the UK. It has internationally been adopted, including in Australia, America, New Zealand and Canada. It has even been sold as street food in Asia, especially during the 70's and 80's.
It is actually extremely easy to make however precision and speed are everything. Some foods are an artform to make and some are a science, cinder toffee is definitely the latter.
- Makes around 500g
- Prep - 10 mins
- Cooking - 20 mins
Gather The Ingredients...
- 250g Caster Sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda (have this in a cup ready)
- 125ml Honey
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 50ml Water
- 300g Good Quality Chocolate, broken up as best you can (Can be milk or dark)
- Digital Probe Thermometer
- Confectionary Thermometer
Let's Get Making...
Due to the speed in which you will have to complete some steps later in the process, proper preparation at this stage is absolutely vital.
Make sure you have a shelf free in your fridge to fit a large oven tray, or a freezer shelf would be even better. Line a large oven tray with baking parchment and get a whisk and a cup with the baking soda in at the ready.
Get the biggest, deepest pan you can find. The toffee will expand by a factor of 4 or so you really need that extra pan space so you don't burn yourself. Pour the water, vanilla extract, caster sugar and honey into the pan and make sure you have a confectionary thermometer attached to the pan and start gently warming in the pan.
Stir the mix together but this will be the only time you stir the mixture. Turn up the heat and let it boil and boil and boil until you reach the 'hard crack' temperature (around 150°C).
Now get ready to be fast. Tip the baking soda into the pan and whisk vigorously for a few seconds. The pan will start frothing and growing rapidly, pour the foaming contents out onto the lined try as fast as possible and put the tray in the fridge/freezer.
At this stage, I am assuming the chocolate you bought is nice and shiny and has a snap to it when you break it up. If it doesn't you will need to temper the chocolate. I will be writing a guide to this very soon!
Now pop your chocolate into a pyrex or metal mixing bowl and place on top of a pan of water, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl and start to gently heat. Stir the chocolate gently with a spatula, ensuring you get no water in at all, not even a drop. Keep the digital probe in the chocolate and make sure it does not exceed 32°C for dark chocolate or 30°C for milk chocolate. Do not be afraid to take the bowl off the heat and stir to control the temperature.
Once it is fully melted and still within the correct temperature, take the bowl and place it on the side.
Take your chilled cinder toffee and cut or break into whatever shape and size you like and then cover in the melted chocolate on some more baking parchment. Make sure to get good coverage to prevent humidity dissolving the cinder toffee and chill.
Store in an airtight container, preferably in the fridge.
YUM!
Make sure you have a shelf free in your fridge to fit a large oven tray, or a freezer shelf would be even better. Line a large oven tray with baking parchment and get a whisk and a cup with the baking soda in at the ready.
Get the biggest, deepest pan you can find. The toffee will expand by a factor of 4 or so you really need that extra pan space so you don't burn yourself. Pour the water, vanilla extract, caster sugar and honey into the pan and make sure you have a confectionary thermometer attached to the pan and start gently warming in the pan.
Stir the mix together but this will be the only time you stir the mixture. Turn up the heat and let it boil and boil and boil until you reach the 'hard crack' temperature (around 150°C).
Now get ready to be fast. Tip the baking soda into the pan and whisk vigorously for a few seconds. The pan will start frothing and growing rapidly, pour the foaming contents out onto the lined try as fast as possible and put the tray in the fridge/freezer.
At this stage, I am assuming the chocolate you bought is nice and shiny and has a snap to it when you break it up. If it doesn't you will need to temper the chocolate. I will be writing a guide to this very soon!
Now pop your chocolate into a pyrex or metal mixing bowl and place on top of a pan of water, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl and start to gently heat. Stir the chocolate gently with a spatula, ensuring you get no water in at all, not even a drop. Keep the digital probe in the chocolate and make sure it does not exceed 32°C for dark chocolate or 30°C for milk chocolate. Do not be afraid to take the bowl off the heat and stir to control the temperature.
Once it is fully melted and still within the correct temperature, take the bowl and place it on the side.
Take your chilled cinder toffee and cut or break into whatever shape and size you like and then cover in the melted chocolate on some more baking parchment. Make sure to get good coverage to prevent humidity dissolving the cinder toffee and chill.
Store in an airtight container, preferably in the fridge.
YUM!
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