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 ...

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, molasses 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 Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

. The baking soda and acid react to form

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...

which is trapped in the highly viscous mixture. When acid is not used,

thermal decomposition Thermal decomposition, or thermolysis, is a chemical decomposition caused by heat. The decomposition temperature of a substance is the temperature at which the substance chemically decomposes. The reaction is usually endothermic as heat is re ...

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 civ ...

, 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 lau ...

bar of Britain or the Violet Crumble 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 Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

* hokey pokey in New Zealand * honeycomb in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, Australia,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States * old fashioned puff in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

* 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 Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

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 Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, Northwest Pennsylvania, 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 i ...

* 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 The ...

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