Crazed Chocolate Insanity Part 4
Making the following recipe was so much fun - it was like a mad science experiment that resulted in sugary goodness!
I'm talking about making "honeycomb" - though, not so much honeycomb as aerated toffee - for homemade Crunchies (or Violet Crumbles, if you will). I got the secret from veganfamily.co.uk.
This is an incredibly dangerous recipe, as it involves boiling sugar, so it's something to do away from kids, methinks.
You don't need a sugar thermometer for this recipe, but if you've got one, that's always helpful!
Honeycomb
Ingredients
460g sugar (I used brown sugar for a slightly earthier taste)
1 cup water
2 teaspoons bicarbonate soda
Chocolate to be melted
Method
Grease a tin thoroughly.
Place the sugar and water in a deep pan (it must be deep, as the mixture will expand greatly when the bicarb is added), and mix well using a wooden spoon (do not use a metal spoon as it will heat up). Place over high heat and bring to the boil. Boil for about 20 - 30 minutes, until the mixture hits the hard crack stage. You can test this either by using a sugar thermometer (hard crack stage is 146-154°C) or by using a cup of iced water. Drop a little of the sugar into the water - when it forms a crisp solid drop and you can crack it satisfyingly between your fingers, it's ready.
Remove the sugar from the heat, and then sprinkle in the two teaspoons of bicarbonate. Stir whilst adding the bicarb to ensure that there are no lumps, and that all the sugar reacts. It will expand enormously.
Pour mixture into the greased tin, and allow to cool to room temperature (I used a metal tin, and it took about an hour to cool). Place in either the fridge or the freezer to completely cool.
Use a sharp knife to slice into sections - you will find that there is shattering and crumbs are created.
Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and allow to cool slightly. Dip the honeycomb quickly into the chocolate, remove excess chocolate, and cool either in the fridge or freezer until the chocolate is firm.
posted by ZuckerBaby @ 11:48 AM
2 Comments:
geez Louise.. step away from the computer for a bit and there you go w/ not one but THREE POSTS??!!!
I have never made candy before it has always intimidated me a bit.. that hole thermometer and being precise thing.. but, I must say I am still curious.. and all of yours just looks spectacular..
uhh do you need an address to share some of that chocolate LOVE with? just kidding
take care and happy new year
Julee
I've got a backlog of recipes to get out there, and I've been hanging to post the chocolate recipes and pictures for ages - I had so much fun making them!!
Making candy is really daunting, but it's a lot of fun too - you can safely get away with making a lot of different things without the fancy pants thermometers etc. I tend to like recipes that let me just experiment and have fun, and these ones from vegweb and veganfamily are definitely tried and true and work out brilliantly!!
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