Preparing Old-Fashioned Honeycomb Or Sponge Toffee

If you're craving some fabulous homemade honeycomb toffee or sponge toffee, you can whip up a batch quickly and easily. This sweet treat is perfect to share with the family or pass out in a holiday gift basket.

The Main Ingredients
There are many different toffee recipes out there, but the key ingredients are rather similar. At the very least, be sure to have on hand 1 cup sugar, 1 cup corn syrup, 1 tablespoon vinegar (either wine vinegar or cider vinegar), water and baking soda. If you keep these in your pantry at all times, you'll be able to make delicious toffee candy any time the mood strikes. The key to toffee is letting it sit and cool after you combine the ingredients, so you can later break up into medium-sized pieces.

Hot, Hot, Hot
To actually make the toffee, you'll need to boil the sugar, corn syrup and vinegar in a large saucepan at high heat. Then once it's off the heat, you'll need to whisk in a tablespoon of baking soda. Whisk this together very fast, and step back as the toffee mixture will bubble up once the baking soda meets the vinegar, similar to the reaction that produces a baking soda volcano. If you're having your children help with this recipe, you'll want to ask them to move because the sugar mixture will get hot. Then let the toffee cool. When it has settled, you can allow the kids to come in and break up the bits and pieces.

Tips
When enjoying your tasty toffee, pair it with a nice after-dinner drink or liqueur like a sherry or a port wine. If you aren't into alcoholic beverages, a nice cup of hazelnut coffee or a plain English breakfast tea will also go well paired with the toffee. Store any leftover toffee in a tin, where it'll be kept cool.