Caramelised White Chocolate Honeycomb
Photography by Simeon Crofts
DIETARY – Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Nut-free
Though this recipe might look like a fair few steps, don’t be intimidated, it’s actually really straightforward, you just need a bit of patience. Honeycomb is a wonderful thing. It’s just three ingredients and only 15 minutes of cooking time on the stove, and what you end up with is a beautiful caramel-coloured, aerated sugar concoction that tastes like childhood memories. Honeycomb keeps well in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge if dipped in chocolate, and makes a fabulous homemade gift that is guaranteed to wow any recipient.
Cinder toffee, sea foam, hokey pokey, honeycomb, the centre of a Cadbury Crunchie… it goes by many different names and there are a variety of recipes and ways to make it, but they all lead to one thing; a sugary toffee-like treat that’s brittle and sticky with a sweet, slightly bitter taste and honeycomb-shaped centre. It can be made with butter and honey or sugar if you want to make it vegan, and it can feel a bit like chemistry class when you add the bicarb and the mixture starts foaming up and doubling in size like candy lava. It’s pretty fun to make and a great recipe to try with kids.
Honeycomb certainly isn’t a healthy recipe, it is pretty much pure sugar, so maybe save it for a weekend treat or special occasion as it can be dangerously addictive! However, when you do make it, why not go all out and dip the thing in chocolate?! Honeycomb and chocolate really are a match made in heaven. I love it dipped in dark, milk, white and now, thanks to this recent discovery, caramelised white chocolate.
Caramelised white chocolate is white chocolate that gets roasted in the oven over an hour, getting mixed and turned frequently as the sugar in the chocolate caramelises, transforming it into rich caramel-like chocolate with a much deeper flavour than plain old white. I personally recommend caramelising white chocolate with a cocoa mass 30% or higher to guarantee a good result. I find Lindt White Chocolate a good go-to. This recipe does come with a warning though… it won’t last long once you’ve tasted your first bite!
Caramelised White Chocolate Honeycomb
Ingredients:
- 300g caster sugar
- 150g golden syrup
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 200g white chocolate
Method:
- First, line a baking tin with non-stick baking paper then measure out your ingredients.
- Add the sugar and syrup to a saucepan and set over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, allow the syrup to come up to the boil then leave it to bubble away until it turns a deep amber colour or 300°F on a sugar thermometer. This will take around 5-10 minutes.
- Once the syrup reaches this point, take it off the heat and immediately add the bicarbonate of soda, using a balloon whisk to mix it in well (but be careful not to over mix it and knock out all of those wonderful air bubbles) before pouring into your prepared tin. You will need to move quickly when mixing in the bicarb as the honeycomb will begin to harden and set.
- Leave the honeycomb to cool completely in the tin before breaking it up – around 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, make your caramelised white chocolate. First, pre-heat the oven to 110°C then break the chocolate up into equal-sized pieces and spread over a baking tray (no need to line it).
- Put the tray of chocolate on the middle shelf of your pre-heated oven and roast for 15 minutes.
- Take the chocolate out and, using a spatula, mix it to work out some of the lumps. There is no real skill or method to this, just as long as you scrape and mix the chocolate to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the tray and burning. Spread the chocolate back out into an even layer and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. Repeat this process a further three times – making it four times/1 hour in total. The chocolate will seem a little chalky and lumpy at first, but by the third mix through it should be getting much smoother and easier to work with.
- After the final 15 minutes, your chocolate should be smooth and a beautiful caramel colour. Remove it from the oven and scrape into a jug or bowl. Mix well with a spoon to get rid of any remaining lumps.
- Now you’re ready to dip your honeycomb pieces into the melted chocolate. I like to sprinkle my honeycomb with a little sea salt but this is completely optional. Set aside to allow the chocolate to set before enjoying. The chocolate-dipped honeycomb should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last for at least one week.