South Africa was the first place I ever tasted honeycomb and it has been on my baking list ever since that moment. I totally loved it. Making honeycomb is not difficult at all and I’ll show you how to do it!
This homemade honeycomb is surprisingly easy to make with just three simple ingredients. It’s light, airy, and perfectly crunchy, with a deep caramel flavor that’s hard to resist.
No special equipment needed, just trust your senses. Delicious on its own, dipped in chocolate, or chopped up and added to desserts.
Honeycomb is a light, airy, and brittle caramel candy made by heating sugar and honey (or syrup) and then adding baking soda.
The baking soda reacts with the hot caramel, creating tiny air bubbles that give honeycomb its signature sponge-like structure. Once cooled, it becomes crisp and crunchy with a deep caramel flavor.
Honeycomb is delicious on its own, but it’s also often dipped in chocolate or broken into pieces and added to desserts like ice cream, cakes, and brownies.
In some countries it’s known by other names -such as Hokey Pokey in New Zealand- and it’s loved for its dramatic looks and texture.
While honeycomb looks very complicated it is actually really easy and you need only the following three ingredients:
Start by setting up the baking sheet with parchment paper, so that is ready to go. Take a sauce pan with a heavy bottom that can handle the heat. I prefer to use a pan that is not dark on the inside. You want to be able to see the color of the caramel change!
Add the sugar and the honey together and heat it gently while stirring to combine. As soon as it starts to boil stop stirring. Don’t move away from the stove as things can go quickly at this point. Let it boil until the caramel turns an amber color.
Now add the baking soda and stir quickly. It will start to bubble immediately. Pour the hot mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and let it cool down undisturbed.
Once it is cooled completely to room temperature you can break it into pieces with a sharp knife or your hands.
You can store the honeycomb pieces in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
No that will not work as honeycomb is very sensitive to moisture.
In the freezer, condensation forms as it freezes and especially when it thaws, which causes the honeycomb to become sticky, chewy, or even collapse. You’ll lose that light, crisp, crunchy texture that makes honeycomb so good.
Honeycomb absorbs moisture very easily. If it’s humid or not stored in an airtight container, it can become sticky or chewy. Always let it cool completely and store it in a dry place.
Yes. A thermometer is helpful, but not required. Watch the color of the caramel, once it turns a deep amber color, it’s ready for the baking soda.
The baking soda reacts with the hot caramel and creates bubbles. This reaction gives honeycomb its light, airy, sponge-like texture.
Yes, you can substitute honey with golden syrup or light corn syrup. The flavor will be slightly different, but the texture will still work well.
Yes. Honeycomb is also known as sponge toffee or cinder toffee, and in New Zealand it’s called Hokey Pokey. The recipe and texture are essentially the same.
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