Homemade Chocolate-Covered Sponge Candy is easier to make than you might think…here the crunch and complex sweetness of caramelized sugar candy is paired with chocolate for a treat everyone loves. Here’s a tip: this candy turns out best when made on a non-humid day!
We don’t talk candy much around here (other than things like Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Superfood Spiced Autumn Truffles, and Paleo Candy Apple Wedges), which is probably for the best.
The mere mention of things like homemade Snickers Bars (which I have wanted to make for forever now!), Peppermint Patties, and Buckeyes is enough to make me want to throw all caution – along with anything remotely healthy – to the wind.
Thoughts like Who need healthy when Christmas is less than a week away? start to run through my head, and before I know what’s happening, I’m making batch after batch of sponge candy. And I realized, I could not hoard a recipe as good as this all for myself…especially since I have seen this candy being sold for upwards of $20/lb!
I grew up with sponge candy on every single holiday. It’s one of those things that I eat twice a year, but look forward to the entire rest of the year.
Maybe you know it by a different name; in different areas around the world it also goes by Honeycomb, Sponge Toffee, Cinder Toffee, Puff Candy, Hokey Pokey, Fairy Food, or Sea Foam (you can read more about it on Wikipedia). It’s basically toffee that has baking soda added at the end of cooking, which causes a chemical reaction and gives the candy the porous, sponge-like texture it’s famous for.
You technically don’t have to coat sponge candy in chocolate, but chocolate definitely rounds out the flavor perfectly. And around these parts, not to coat it in chocolate is downright sacrilegious. You will suffer for your crime, even if your punishment is just listening to everyone who eats it ask you why you didn’t coat it in chocolate. Trust me, it’s better just to coat it.
This recipe definitely has to come with a disclaimer though. Once you realize how easy it is to make (you don’t even need a candy thermometer!), you might just want to make it all the time.
And right now is the perfect time. With Christmas less than a week away, you can sample a few pieces of candy and package the rest up as gifts. I’ve literally made this recipe three times in the past week under the pretenses of Christmas gifts and party favors.
Like I said, this candy needs a disclaimer.
- Butter, to generously grease the dish
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (120 ml) corn syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 3½ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 12 oz (340 g) good-quality dark chocolate, chopped
- Grease an 8 by 8-inch baking dish with butter; line it with 2 pieces of parchment paper so that the paper hangs over all 4 sides, and then generously grease the paper with more butter.
- Add the sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt to a heavy-bottomed, deep-sided, medium-sized saucepan.
- Heat over medium-high heat until the mixture turns amber colored, about 10 to 15 minutes. (You can swirl the pan, but don’t stir.)
- Once amber-colored, turn off the heat and use a wooden spoon to stir in the baking soda and vanilla. (Be careful because the mixture will foam up. Don't stir too much because you want the bubbles in the candy.)
- Pour the candy into the prepared dish and don’t move the dish until the candy is fully set, about 1 to 2 hours.
- Once set, break or cut the candy into about 1 to 2-inch-sized pieces. (You will have smaller candy crumbs; they are still delicious, so don’t discard them. Use the crumbs to garnish cupcakes, cake, ice cream, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, etc.)
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave or double boiler. To coat the candy, gently brush off any small crumbs on the candy, dip it in the chocolate, and remove it with a fork to let the excess chocolate drip off. Place it on a wire rack or parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Let the chocolate set before serving or packaging the candy.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Divine and so addictive!
Cheers,
Rosa
I’ve never heard of this! I bet its amazing though! Love that you covered it in chocolate.
I am SO making this, you know how your Uncle Vince loves sponge candy :-)
These look incredible! So hard to find because everyone sells out around here. I will be making these very soon!
When I was growing up, I was obsessed with these candy bars from Australia, called Violet Crumble…have you ever had one?? I imagine your sponge candy is similar to them, and it’s bringing back the fondest of memories ;) These look amazing, my dear!
That looks beautifully perfect. I’ve never had this growing up, had it in a specialty store in SF and absolutely loved it. I tried it once and all I tasted and smelt was soda..:(..I can’t wait to try it out next week. Great job, looks darn good.
This candy looks dangerously delicious, Faith! It reminds me of a Violet Crumble bar.
My husband LOVES this candy but we always seem to have such a hard time finding it in stores. I think I’ll surprise him with a big batch of this!
Faith, you must be from Buffalo! I don’t think they have sponge candy too many other places. I grew up in South Buffalo and live in Williamsville now. Since it is so easy for me to get my hands on sponge candy I am not motivated to tackle making my own, but I was so excited to see this recipe posted. Sponge candy is too good not to be shared with the world!
I just tried sponge candy today! It was so good!! We have a student in Physical Therapy where I work & she is from Buffalo, New York & her mother made it! I am glad to see the recipe so I can make it!!
Love this stuff and fun to make, great recipe.
Made this tonight, so good! Also so easy, I might try making candy more often. I ended up just drizzling them in chocolate but they are still wonderful.
Is this light and fluffy like Buffalo sponge candy or is is hard and crunchy like toffee? I’ve had “sponge” candy in Maryland before, but it is nothing like what I grew up with!
can u make this using light corn syrup
Marsha Ceil, Yes, this should work fine with light corn syrup! Hope you enjoy it if you give it a try!
Sponge candy is my favorite! I never imagined it would be so easy to make.
i can’t begin to tell you how excited i am to find this recipe. like you, sponge candy was a big player when i was growing up. when we moved to texas, we couldn’t find it (too humid to last) so we had to order it from buffalo, new york and have it shipped to get our fix that way. i never even considered it was something i could make!!!! ugh!!!!!
this looks so easy, which could really end up being a bad thing.
thank you.
This is one of my favorite candies–thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thanks for posting this recipe! I am 61 years young, and I remember my mother having me pick out a good size chunk of this candy at our town’s local grocery store. The first moment I sunk my teeth in it has been fondly remembered all these years. It was the best stuff I ever tasted. Going to use your recipe to make some for our grandchildren’s Christmas stocking! Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.
Memmay, Thank you so much for your lovely comment! I have fond memories of sponge candy around the holidays too. I hope you enjoy my recipe! Merry Christmas to you and yours as well.
Is there a substitute for corn syrup? I am allergic to corn!
Rose, I haven’t tried this recipe using anything instead of corn syrup so I can’t say for sure, but I have heard that brown rice syrup can be a good substitute for corn syrup in candy making! Please let me know how it goes if you give it a try!
I just read a similar recipe that uses maple flavored syrup. Maybe a possibility..
I live in Iowa, and have been making this since I was a kid. You can usually buy it at the Amish and Mennonite stores here, but not many other places. Might be tied to that community instead of being a regional thing; I know PA and OH have a large population also. I have seen other variations, but this is the exact recipe my Grandma taught me 35 years ago.
My kid gets it every time we visit the Adirondacks. Love it!