Thursday 4 December 2014

White Chocolate Peppermint Honeycomb

peppermint flavoured honeycomb dipped in white chocolate

Peppermint and white chocolate conjure up one of the flavours of Christmas to me. I have no idea why. It’s a pairing I hadn’t thought about combining them until a few years back and now, I can’t get enough of it at this time of year.


This year I decided to be a bit adventurous and make peppermint flavoured honeycomb. You know, puff candy, hokey pokey, it has loads of different names, but I call it honeycomb. I’ve never made it before as it seems like a bit of kitchen alchemy. Hot sugar, syrup and bicarbonate of soda - that’s it!

I’d never heard of anyone adding peppermint extract to the mixture so it was a bit of a gamble, as I thought the heat of the molten sugar may kill off any trace of mintiness. But as I added it toward the end, the flavour stuck around.


And when I had bashed away at the set slab of honeycomb, I dipped each piece in some white chocolate and topped, purely for decorative purposes, some crushed candy cane.

peppermint flavoured honeycomb dipped in white chocolate

It’s really quite easy if you don’t mind boiling hot sugar, and the result is like a minty Crunchie – how bad can that be (as Ina would say)?

Ingredients:
200 grams caster sugar
75 ml golden syrup
2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
200 grams white chocolate
1 candy cane, crushed
Adapted from BBC Good Food

Method:
Line a 9” square tin with greaseproof paper and grease the paper liberally.
In a large saucepan place the sugar and syrup. Over low heat, melt the sugar into the syrup so it is all liquid. Don’t let It bubble until all the sugar has dissolved. Then turn the heat to medium and let it bubble until it gets to be a slightly darker amber colour (it will be golden syrup colour before that).


Add the teaspoon of peppermint and stir. Take care as the mint may sting your eyes as the heat has quite an effect on it. Lastly, off the heat add the bicarb and stir! It will foam wildly but keep stirring until the bicarb is incorporated and then scrape it into your prepared tin.



It will continue to darken and bubble for a while but set it aside for an hour and a half to cool and set. Once set remove from the tin and peel off the paper. With a toffee hammer or kitchen mallet bash the honeycomb square into bitesize chunks (see above).

Melt the white chocolate in a bowl, over a pan of simmering water. Then dip each piece of honeycomb into the chocolate, covering completely. Place on a baking tray lined with more greaseproof paper and sprinkle with some crushed candy cane. Allow to cool in the fridge until set.

And there you have white chocolate peppermint honeycomb. Perfect little festive treat with a cuppa.

12 comments:

  1. Peppermint is one of my favourite flavours EVER, like you with the honeycomb, I think I'll give this a bash! Thanks...

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    1. You'll certainly have to give the honeycomb a bash Fan!

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  2. we call it cinder toffee... I love this stuff but have also never made it... you make it look so easy too, I love the idea of peppermint and white chocolate, it looks so festive!

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    1. OOh, I forgot cinder toffee too! White choc and peppermint flavours not over yet Dom x

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  3. Super! I love this idea so much - the addition of the peppermint too, it has me thinking! :)

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  4. What an unusual idea - might just have to try it but dipped in dark chocolate :-)

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    1. That would be even more Crunchie like Katie!

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  5. Yum! I love anything minty and the crushed candy cane is very festive!

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  6. That looks fab and my kids would have great fun smashing it up!

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    Replies
    1. And for taking your frustrations out on too!

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