Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable (52 page)

General Description:

Its golden orange color and airy, spongy texture has earned sponge toffee a multitude of creative names
. This chocolate-covered confection is known as
honeycomb toffee
or
cinder toffee
in Britain,
sponge candy
or
sea foam
in America, and
hokey pokey
in New Zealand. It is made by cooking sugar and golden syrup or corn syrup to hard crack stage and then adding baking soda. The baking soda forms bubbles, giving the candy a foamy consistency that melts in the mouth.

History:

Honeycomb toffee originated in Britain. Two popular commercial honeycomb toffee candy bars are the British Crunchie and the Australian Violet Crumble.

Serving Suggestions:

This candy is typically served in large chunks covered in bittersweet chocolate. You can also cut them into elegant bars.

Candy-Making Notes:

Golden syrup is a common sweetener in Britain and Australia; if you cannot find it, substitute molasses, honey, or corn syrup. When you add the baking soda, stir thoroughly to create as much aeration as possible.

Recipe:

1.
Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with foil and butter well.

2.
Heat sugar and syrup in a saucepan that’s large enough for the mixture to bubble up after you add the baking soda. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.

3.
Continue cooking until the mixture reaches 285°F, hard crack stage.

4.
Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda, mixing well to dissolve all of it. Be careful: the mixture will bubble up.

5.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan to cool. If you want, you can score the mixture with a knife as it cools.

6.
Break the toffee into pieces. If desired, dip the toffee pieces in
tempered chocolate
, and place candies on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper to set.

Yield:

About 24 pieces

Storage:

Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

General Description:

This sweet, fudgey candy is eaten throughout India and Pakistan, especially at celebrations and other special occasions
. Burfi, sometimes spelled
barfi
, is typically made by cooking milk until it thickens into a solid. Burfi is usually cut into small squares or diamonds covered with edible silver.

History:

Burfi
means “snow” in Persian. This candy originated in Persia and was introduced to India during the Mughal dynasty in the 16th century. It is commonly served at Indian festivals, including Diwali, the Festival of Lights, and Holi, the Festival of Colors.

Serving Suggestions:

Some of the most common flavors of burfi are coconut, pistachio, and saffron. You can make burfi with cashews instead of almonds or add shredded coconut to the batter. Another option is to use different food colorings in the batter to create a rainbow of choices for guests.

Candy-Making Notes:

For authentic burfi, use
ghee
, or Indian clarified butter, instead of regular melted butter. Edible silver foil, called
varakh
,
varak
, or
vark
can be found at Indian groceries or online.