Fairy Candy....FAIL

When Blockette had "Leoparditis," in my feeble attempts to cheer her up, I told her I was going to try to make something called Fairy Candy. Some people may know it by: Honeycomb, Angel food, sponge toffee, sea foam, hokey pokey, cinder toffee, or yellow man. It is pretty common in candies from everywhere but the U.S. Off the top of my head, Violet Crumble and Crunchie are the two most famous candy bars that contain this type of sweet filling.

The little sickie was quite excited at the prospect of a treat that was named after fairies. I felt like such a great mom. Until...

I remembered things that require a candy thermometer NEVER turn out. This time would be different right? I mean if I can conquer yeasted bread, surely the curse of the candy thermometer must be broken as well. Right? Hahahaha. right.

I let the mixture come up to 150 C like the recipe stated. I think it needed to be at that temp for more than 1 second. I took it off the heat and added the baking soda. I think I should have combined the baking soda with a whisk instead of a wooden spoon. I was so afraid that I would loose the bubbles, I did not stir it enough.

This is what happened when I poured the mixture onto my silpat sheet. Yeah, it looks like a big old mess of cat yack.

Once on the silpat I noticed the white flecks of the baking soda that did not get mixed in properly. So I tried to stir it on the silpat. This only made things worse. It broke up what little bubbles there were in the candy.

I crossed my fingers and hoped maybe it would be salvageable. A half hour later the mixture still had not set up. Not a good sign! So, I stuck the batch in the fridge to cool for another hour and I was able to break the stuff into shards. At least it looks better at this point.I called Blockette into the kitchen and told her the fairy candy was ready to test, but I warned her that I didn't think it had turned out the way it was supposed to. We each took a bite, I smiled, crunch, crunch! It tasted good. Hooray! ...or was it.

The third crunch, turned into cries of help from Blockette. "Mommy it is all stuck to my teeth! I can't get it off. Mommy get it off." The initial crunch turned into very very sticky sticky toffee. Blockette LOATHES it when things stick to her teeth. She is very particular about that. Oh she was so mad at me.
Now I had an already cranky sick kid, who was now disappointed, upset and even more cranky. Talk about messing things up. Once we got Blockette's teeth free and clean from the offending concotion, she scowled at me and said, "Next time you shouldn't screw up."

My sentiments exactly. I do like how the candy tastes, and I don't mind the chewy parts. I did find a good use for all that candy. I've stuck the whole batch in the freezer, and when I feel like having some tea, I plop in 2 shards into the bottom of the mug before adding the boiling water. The hot water melts the candy and gives it a nice honey-maple flavor.
If you'd like to try your hand at making this candy, here is the recipe:

Maple syrup honeycomb candy from Feeding Time
Hopefully you'll have better luck than me!

Honeycomb Recipe from Feeding time blog
1 cup sugar
55ml honey
40ml maple syrup
60g butter
1/2 tbs baking soda
250g chocolate, melted

Put the sugar, butter, syrup and honey into a pot and stir over medium heat. Simmer for 5-7 minutes or until mixture reaches (300F) on a sugar thermometer. Take off the heat. Add bi-carb soda. Stir until golden and foamy. Pour into a cake pan that has been lined and greased. Set aside till cooled and hard.