Honeycomb

Honey honey, how you thrill me

Ever since I saw Nigella Lawson make honeycomb on her show ages ago, I wanted to try it out. It looked like so much fun and she was right, when you make it, you are filled with glee. It's probably the shortest ingredient list you'd ever see and like Nigella says, it's not cooking, it's kitchen alchemy... 

Someone lately asked me for suggestions for a Winnie the Pooh themed B'day party and she liked the idea of honeycomb. It is rarely made in kitchens here and I don't see many people in Bangalore talking about it, so there is a novelty factor to it. I went out and got myself some golden syrup, the one thing that was stopping me from making it for so long. Thankfully, Bangalore has lately gotten a number of suppliers for stuff that was previously unheard of... I knew it was available for sometime now, but the thought of honeycomb had slipped off my radar. The Winnie theme party got it right back and I am glad....

So without further ado, here is my recipe for honeycomb, aka hokey pokey. It is all and out Nigella's recipe....

Honeycomb/Hokey Pokey

Ingredients:

• 100 grams castor sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 tablespoons golden syrup (substitute with honey if unavailable)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Method:

• Take a heavy bottomed large pan and mix in the golden syrup and caster sugar till combined.
• Place the pan on heat. DO NOT stir once it is on heat. The mixture will get clumpy and crystallise and you will have to keep stirring till the mixture is ready and that is a pain. If you feel you need to mix it, swirl the pan instead..
• Wait till the mixture is bubbling. If you have a sugar/candy thermometer, wait till the temp hits 250 to 265 F. For those who do not have a candy thermometer (me included), test it but dipping in a spoon and dropping a drop of the mixture into a bowl of cold water. When you touch it, if it is almost firm and holds its shape as a ball, you are good to go. If not, wait a little longer... 
• Once you reach the hard ball stage, turn off the heat and quickly whisk in the baking soda. You will see that the mixture begins to froth and bubble up. This is why you need a large pan as it rises up. Pour the mixture onto a plate lined with parchment paper and leave to set for a few hours. You can speed up the process by placing it in the refrigerator. Once set, break it into shards and enjoy the sticky crumbly honeycomb.
• So go ahead - Get, Set, Bake...