https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/hokey-pokey • Posted by Aurum Press
PREPARATION: 25 minutes, plus setting COOKING: 10 minutes MAKES: 350g (12oz) This recipe brings out the child in me: I still love watching the mixture fizz and bubble – volcano-like – as the bicarbonate of soda reacts with the hot sugar syrup to make this wonderful honeycomb.
PREPARATION: 25 minutes, plus setting COOKING: 10 minutes MAKES: 350g (12oz) This recipe brings out the child in me: I still love watching the mixture fizz and bubble – volcano-like – as the bicarbonate of soda reacts with the hot sugar syrup to make this wonderful honeycomb.
Grease a 16cm x 28cm (6¼in x 11in) traybake tin. Make sure you can leave it somewhere undisturbed as you don’t want to move it until the hokey pokey is set.
Heat the syrup, sugar and butter in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan until the sugar is dissolved. Using a wet pastry brush, wash down the sides of the pan to dissolve any stray sugar crystals that may cause the sugar syrup to crystallise while cooking.
Bring the sugar mixture to the boil and boil steadily until a sugar thermometer reads 138°C/280°F (the soft crack stage). Alternatively, drop a teaspoon of the mixture into a bowl of cold water. Bring it together with your fingers – it should form firm but pliable threads.
Take off the heat and immediately stir in the bicarbonate of soda followed by the vinegar – it will fizz and bubble up, so take care.
Quickly turn into the prepared tin, pouring in one layer from the top to the bottom of the tin – don’t be tempted to smooth out with a spoon or shake the pan to level the mixture because this will burst all the precious bubbles you have just created. Leave to set without moving.
Break into pieces and dip into melted chocolate, if you like. These treats start to get sticky after a couple of days but will keep for up to two weeks if completely covered in chocolate.