Unless you have been hiding from all forms of social media over the last few months, you will have heard of the Squid Games. I fell in love with this show from the second episode. Although the first episode set the context, I wasn’t sure I’d continue with it until I saw a preview of the second episode. This treat is from that show and was one of the more difficult tasks in the game. This is my 2021 Christmas Treat #8 – Crunch Sponge Toffee.
In the show, the participants had to cut out a stenciled shape on a wafer thin piece of honeycomb. An almost impossible task unless you know how. If you have ever eaten a “Crunchie Chocolate” bar, that hard delicious mysterious interior that melts once it hit your mouth – is the way to solve the task. It really is simple to make, you can decorate it a lot of different ways but I think – and not that it needs it, but the best way is Crunchie style – with chocolate! This is a “no oven required” treat. All done on the top of your stove, just one burner required. This is also known as Honeycomb but without the honey!
This will be a nice surprise on your sweet table, playful and memorable – I know everyone will love it! See the “Well Why Not” section for alternate ingredients in case you don’t have or don’t want to build out your pantry. Get your booster shot, wear a mask, wash your hands and socialize responsibly. As always – enjoy!
Ingredients
300g sugar
150g golden syrup – I use Lyle brand
Pinch of cream of tartar
1 ½ tsp baking soda
Optional – 50g dark chocolate, melted
Directions
1. Cover a 9” square baking tray with parchment paper – bottom and sides – set aside
2. To a heavy bottom non-stick pan over low heat, add the sugar, golden syrup and cream of tartar and stir gently until the sugar has dissolved – this will take anywhere from 5-10 minutes, adjust the heat up and down until the syrup runs somewhat clear i.e. no grains of sugar are visible
3. Cook the syrup on a medium low heat until it starts to caramelize lightly – about another 1 minute
4. Remove from the heat and immediately add the baking soda and stir with a long handled spoon – it will rise/bubble up so be careful
5. Pour into the prepared pan and allow to cool completely – placing this on a cooling rack will help speed up the process, but this may take an hour or more as the sugar syrup is heated to 300f – that’s hot!
6. When completely cool, remove by lifting up by the excess parchment and place on a cutting board
7. Using the end of a rolling pin or the tip of a sharp knife, carefully break the square into bite sized pieces (honestly, that is more than enough)
Enjoy the first piece, be a kid again!
Optional – dip one, two or all ends of the pieces in chocolate and let dry before storing in an airtight container – I put my cookies in a freezer bag and then in a airtight plastic container (and where applicable, the fridge) to keep freshness and taste
Well Why Not! (suggestions and/or changes)
– In a 9” square pan, this yields about 1” thick pieces, if you want it thinner – more wafer like, pour it into a larger rimmed lined container i.e. 9”x13” or a larger lined rimmed baking tray
– If you don’t have golden syrup, use corn syrup
– Use different types of chocolate to dip the ends in – white, milk and dark
– Use a combination of 110 grams golden syrup and 40 grams maple syrup instead of all golden syrup
