Honeycomb toffee, sponge toffee, cinder toffee or hokey pokey is a sugary toffee with a light, rigid, sponge-like texture. Its main ingredients are typically brown sugar, corn syrup and baking soda, sometimes with an acid such as vinegar. The baking soda and acid react to form carbon dioxide which is trapped in the highly viscous mixture. When acid is not used, thermal decomposition of the baking soda releases carbon dioxide. The sponge-like structure is formed while the sugar is liquid, then the toffee sets hard. The candy goes by a variety of names and regional variants. Owing to its relatively simple recipe and quick preparation time, in some regions it is often made at home, and is a popular recipe for children. It is also made commercially and sold in small blocks, or covered in chocolate, a popular example being the Crunchie bar.
Regional names
Honeycomb toffee is known by a wide variety of names including:
In Taiwan or Hong Kong, it is called swollen sugar.
China
In China, it is called honeycomb sugar. It is said to be a popular type of confectionery among the post-80s in their childhood.
Hungary
In Hungary, it is known as törökméz and is commonly sold at town fairs.
New Zealand
The New Zealand name for honeycomb toffee is "hokey pokey". A very popular ice-cream flavor consisting of plain vanilla ice cream with small, solid lumps of honeycomb toffee is also known as hokey pokey.
Japan
The same confection is a traditional sweet in Japan known as, a portmanteau of the Portuguese word caramelo and the Japanese word yaki. It is typically hand-made, and often sold by street vendors.
South Korea
Dalgona or ppopgi is a Korean candy made with melted sugar and baking soda. It was a popular street snack in the 1970s and 1980s, and is still eaten as a retro food. It has a different name for each region. When a pinch of baking soda is mixed into melted sugar, the thermal decomposition of the baking soda releases carbon dioxide, which makes the liquidized sugar puff up, and it becomes a light and crunchy candy once cooled and hardened. Typically, the creamy beige liquid is poured on a flat surface, pressed flat, and stamped with a patterned mold. Eaters try to trim their way around the outline or picture on the snack without breaking the picture. If the trimming is completed successfully without breaking the candy, the consumer receives another free dalgona.Modern cafes in Seoul now serve novel beverages where dalgona is heaped on top of iced tea or coffee, and pastries such as scones.
