# How to make honeycomb toffee

**Canonical URL:** https://sweeties.net/wiki/how-to-make-honeycomb-toffee/
**Source:** sweeties.net, online pick and mix sweet shop

## Summary

Honeycomb is golden syrup and sugar cooked to an amber caramel, then foamed up with bicarbonate of soda. A simple method, and why it can go flat or chewy.

## Description

Honeycomb toffee is a sugar syrup that has been blown into a foam, then left to set hard. It goes by many names, including cinder toffee, sponge toffee and, in Northern Ireland, yellowman: see honeycomb toffee and yellowman
A word on safety
The syrup gets extremely hot, and when the bicarbonate of soda goes in, it foams up fast and high. Use a large pan, keep children back from the stove, and let an adult do all the cooking and pouring.
What you need
This follows the chunky golden honeycomb recipe from Lyle's, the golden syrup maker:
5 tablespoons golden syrup200 g golden caster sugar2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
You will also need a large pan, a wooden spoon, and a 20 cm brownie tin, greased and lined.
Method
Melt. Put the golden syrup and sugar in the large pan and heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the grains have gone.Cook to caramel. Let it simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes, until it turns a deep amber caramel.Foam. Take the pan off the heat, add the bicarbonate of soda and stir it in very quickly with the wooden spoon. The mixture will foam up at once.Pour. Tip it straight into the lined tin, where it will keep bubbling. Do not stir it any further.Set. Leave it alone for 1 to 2 hours, until it is hard and brittle, then break it into chunks.
Where the bubbles come from
Bicarbonate of soda gives off carbon dioxide gas. The hot, thick syrup traps the bubbles, so the whole mass puffs up into a foam, which then sets as it cools: see how is honeycomb toffee made?
When it goes wrong
Lyle's gives three common problems:
Flat honeycomb. Stirring too much after adding the bicarbonate of soda knocks out the air.Chewy honeycomb. The caramel was not cooked enough before the soda went in: see why is my toffee not hardening?Dark, bitter honeycomb. The caramel was cooked too far.
Keeping it crunchy
Moisture makes honeycomb soggy, so store it in an airtight container, away from damp, and not in the fridge. For a treat, dip the pieces in melted chocolate: see how to melt chocolate

---

_Content available under sweeties.net citation contract. AI training: yes. Search: yes. Answer-input: yes._