Honeycomb toffee, honeycomb candy, sponge toffee, cinder toffee, seafoam, or hokey pokey is a sugary

toffee Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses (creating inverted sugar) along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of . While being prepared, toffee is ...

with a light, rigid, sponge-like texture. Its main ingredients are typically

brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

(or

corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn (called maize in many countries) and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften ...

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods. ...

or golden syrup) and

baking soda Sodium bicarbonate ( IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3− ...

, sometimes with an acid such as vinegar. The baking soda and acid react to form carbon dioxide which is trapped in the highly viscous mixture. When acid is not used, thermal decomposition of the baking soda releases carbon dioxide. The sponge-like structure is formed while the sugar is liquid, then the toffee sets hard. The candy goes by a variety of names and regional variants. Owing to its relatively simple recipe and quick preparation time, in some regions it is often made at home, and is a popular recipe for children. It is also made commercially and sold in small blocks, or covered in

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civi ...

, a popular example being the

Crunchie Crunchie is a brand of chocolate bar with a honeycomb toffee (or known as "sponge toffee" in Canada and "honeycomb" or "cinder toffee" in the UK as well as "hokey pokey" in New Zealand) sugar centre. It is made by Cadbury and was originally laun ...

bar of Britain or the

Violet Crumble Violet Crumble is an Australian chocolate bar. The bar is a crumbly honeycomb toffee centre coated in a layer of compound chocolate. It was first made by Hoadley's Chocolates in South Melbourne around the year 1913; and is currently made in Ade ...

of Australia.

Regional names

Honeycomb toffee is known by a wide variety of names including: * cinder toffee in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

* fairy food candy or angel food candy in Wisconsin * hokey pokey in New Zealand * honeycomb in South Africa, Australia,

, Ireland, Philippines, and Ohio, United States * old fashioned puff in Massachusetts * puff candy in ScotlandS.W.R.I. (1977). ''S.W.R.I. Jubilee Cookery Book''. Edinburgh: Scottish Women's Rural Institutes; Reprint of 8th Edition (1968), p179 * sponge candy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, Minnesota,

Northwest Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...

, and

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY inc ...

* sponge toffee (''"tire éponge"'') in Canada

In various cultures

China

In China, it is called ''fēngwōtáng'' (蜂窩糖; "honeycomb candy"). It is said to be a popular type of confectionery enjoyed during childhood of the

post-80s The Post-'80s (also the Post-1980s, ; yue, 八十後, baat3 sap6 hau6 or yue, 八零後, baat3 ling4 hau6) is a Chinese colloquial term referring to the generation in Mainland China born between 1980 and 1989, especially in urban cities, after t ...

Hungary

In Hungary, it is known as ''törökméz'' (Turkish honey) and is commonly sold at town fairs.

Japan

The same confection is a traditional sweet in Japan known as , a portmanteau of the Portuguese word ''caramelo'' (caramel) and the Japanese word ''yaki'' (to bake), and thus can be roughly translated into English as 'baked caramel' or 'grilled caramel'. It is typically hand-made, and often sold by street vendors. In Japan, raw egg whites are mixed with the baking soda to make the final product have a puffed up, dome shape.

South Korea

Dalgona ''Dalgona'' () or ''ppopgi'' () is a Korean candy made with melted sugar and baking soda. It was a popular street snack in the 1970s and 1980s, and is still eaten as a retro food. When a pinch of baking soda is mixed into melted sugar, the therm ...

'' () is a Korean candy made with melted sugar and

. It was a popular street snack in the 1970s and 1980s, and is still eaten as a retro food.

New Zealand

Honeycomb toffee is known as hokey pokey (especially in the Kiwi classic Hokey Pokey ice cream) in New Zealand. A very popular ice-cream flavour consisting of plain vanilla ice cream with small, solid lumps of honeycomb toffee is also known as hokey pokey. It is also used to make ''hokey pokey biscuits''.

Taiwan

In Taiwan, it is called ''swollen sugar'' (膨糖, péngtáng or 椪糖, pèngtáng).

Gallery

Karume-yaki stall by Another side of yukita in Asakusa.jpg, A street seller in

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History T ...

Tokyo offering hand-made ''karumeyaki'' File:Dalgona.jpg, ''

References

{{Traditional British sweets Toffee Candy American confectionery British confectionery Canadian confectionery Hungarian confectionery Japanese confectionery Korean confectionery New Zealand confectionery Scottish confectionery South African confectionery