Equipment
- 1 thermometer
Ingredients
- 65 grams honey
- 300 grams caster sugar
- 110 ml liquid glucose
- 50 ml water
- 15 grams bicarbonate of soda
Instructions
- Place the water, honey, glucose and sugar into a large saucepan.
- Line the base and sides of a 23 x 28cm deep baking tray with baking paper. Generously spray the paper with cooking oil.
- Heat the honey mixture in the saucepan over medium heat, whisking frequently.
- Cook the syrup until it reaches 152 °C. At the point turn the heat off, remove the thermometer and give the syrup a good whisk.
- Whisk the bicarbonate of soda into the sugar syrup well. At the point the mixture will expand rapidly. Please be careful here as the sugar mixture is extremely hot.
- Lift the pan and carefully pour the honeycomb into the prepared tray, using the whisk to scoop out any remaining honeycomb.
- Leave the honeycomb for at least 2 hours to cool. Once cool, remove from the tin and break into pieces to serve.
Honeycomb is something that always looks so impressive but is surprisingly simple to make. It makes for an amazing gift when packaged up, but also goes nicely on its own or dipped into melted chocolate.
Preparing the Sugar Syrup
To start with take a 23 x 28cm cake tin and line it with baking paper. Once the tray is lined with paper, give it a liberal spray with cooking oil (such as canola oil). Next, prepare all your ingredients by weighing them out ready to use. Liquid glucose can normally be found in the baking section at your local supermarket. If you can’t see it there, check specialty baking suppliers or order it online.
Place the water, honey, glucose and sugar into a large saucepan. It’s important the saucepan is large (and deep) as the honeycomb will expand considerably later during cooking.
Cooking the Honeycomb Mixture
Heat the honey syrup mixture over a medium heat. Ensure that you are stirring the syrup constantly so that sugar crystals don’t form in the pan. Heat the mixture until it reaches approximately 152-155 °C. Use either a candy or digital thermometer to monitor the mixture. Don’t make the mistake I made the first time I ever made honeycomb. I accidentally dropped my thermometer into the sugar syrup, and it never worked the same way again.
Once the temperature has been reached, turn off the heat and remove your thermometer from the saucepan. Carefully whisk in the bicarbonate of soda. Please be careful at this point as the mixture will expand rapidly and the sugar syrup is incredibly hot and will burn if accidentally touched.
You will want to work fairly quickly once your honeycomb has expanded. Take your saucepan and carefully pour the honeycomb mixture into the prepared cake tin. Use the whisk to help scoop out the honeycomb here.
Finishing the Honeycomb
Once the honeycomb has been poured into the cake tin, leave it to set for at least 2 hours, allowing it to cool completely. Once cooled, remove the honeycomb from the tin and use your hands to break it into pieces to serve.
Serve it on its own or dipped into melted chocolate. Can also make for an amazing decoration on top of cakes.
The cooked honeycomb will last up to 4-5 days in an airtight container. Honeycomb goes best in a dry environment; moisture will start to make the honeycomb sticky (which is why it’s often covered in chocolate at the shops). Adding a couple of silica gel sachets to the container with the honeycomb can stop it becoming sticky for longer.
Cleaning Tip: Add some boiling water to your saucepan and boil to clean off any honeycomb residue.
