Hokey pokey, cinder toffee, golden crunchers—this caramel and chocolate candy is delicious by any name.
Just to be clear, "chocolate-coated honeycomb" is not an actual honeycomb coated in chocolate. That would be filled with wax. It would be hard to eat. No, this chocolate-coated honeycomb refers to a delicious caramel candy made with sugar, corn syrup or golden syrup, and baking soda. It's quick to make and incredibly compelling.
To make it, you start by preparing a caramel in a heavy-bottomed pan. Then you add baking soda and as soon as you do, it starts to expand and bubble. You pour the fizzy caramel onto a lined baking sheet and set it aside to cool—as it does, tiny air bubbles are trapped inside, creating a really great aerated texture.
It's important to choose the right pot for the job. For this recipe, I used a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a capacity of 2 1/2 quarts. If you happen to have a similar pot on hand, use it. It's okay to use a slightly larger one, but I wouldn't recommend using anything smaller, as the hot caramel may spill over the sides once you've whisked in the baking soda.
Once everything is set, combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in the saucepan and heat it over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. The water is there to ensure that the sugar and syrup heat evenly. With the sugar dissolved, bring the syrup to a boil.