So it was suggested we try making Cadbury’s Crunchie. You know the honeycombe bar with a chocolate coating. Not my favourite but its got to be easier than making a Mars Bar, right? Wrong. Painfully wrong.
Remember ‘The Magic Porridge Pot’? Well this ain’t it kids.
All the various blogs and the like say this is a really easy creation. Nigella bangs on about ‘whooshing clouds of aerated pale gold’. Another blogger talks about this being the easiest thing to make in the kitchen. WTF? Are these people deluded? Happiness Stan had three goes at this and failed, in an epic fashion, each time.
But it wasn’t the pathetically un-honeycombe-like result; it was the disgusting taste of bicarbonate of soda in each effort. I mean here are the ingredients and the method:
- 100 gms Caster Sugar
- 4 tbsp of Golden Syrup
- 1 tpsp of bicarbonate of soda
Its easy. Mix the sugar and syrup, heat in a pan until its bubbling and then whisk in the soda. Transfer to a greased tray as it is foaming and then leave to set. How hard is that? Lets see.
Effort 1
Its fairly easy to see this one is suffering burnt sugar syndrome. No problem seeing that. So lets try again
Effort 2
Does this look like a Crunchie? No it looks like a cow pat.
Okay so this one isn’t so burnt but it tasted like bleach. Lets try one more time (you know this isn’t going to turn out well)
Effort 3
I’m following Nigella’s method. I’m sure I am…
After letting the sugar bubble I added the Bicarb and let it foam, then poured it into a dish…
Foaming golden loveliness? My rear end it is….
So I let this set. As directed. Then I whacked at it with a spoon and it shattered all over me, covering my T-shirt with bits of gooey sugar. I tasted it. It tasted like bleach. I wasn’t going to let any of my Lindt chocolate near this roadcrash! I give up…
Happiness Stan Lives Here 
I haven’t ever tried to make honeycomb. I think it would be rather difficult. I’ll leave it up to Cadburys! Just so you don’t feel all forlorn, here is a blog post I wrote about one of my cooking experiments… it’s dissapointing when things don’t turn out how you plan…. http://strawberryquicksand.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/youll-eat-it-and-youll-like-it-experimental-cooking-purple-carrot-soup/
Lol, I don’t know how I missed this before. I feel the disappointment, been there many times in the kitchen!
On the one hand it does look like a Sci Fi flick!
I know it was much more fun experimenting – it might have been quite boring if it had actually worked!
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i saw this post and got so excited because i LOVE crunchies and they are not the easiest to find in the states, but it sounds like i’d be better off just buying one.
Yes I’m sticking to buying them!
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Rolf, looks like it would make a fantastic special effect in a horror movie though, something along the lines of “the blob” or similar!
This is reassuring. I have made several attempts at honeycomb too, and, although it tasted ok, it never really set properly and always seemed a bit soggy. I’ll let you know the secret if I ever master it (I doubt I will though).
Really like the blog!
Thanks for your recent visit to my blog, Play a Good Knife and Fork (http://blog.pknewby.com)!! I share your love of chocolate and baked goods (including of the British variety, having spent quite a lot of time there). And, like you, have had my share of less-than-stellar experiments in the kitchen… 🙂
Your posts always bring a smile to my face.
The recipe I found included a tablespoon of vinegar as well as the bicarb. Maybe that was the problem?*
*says she who has never tried it and probably won’t because she’s terrified of hot sugar mixtures
I know when i hit it with a spoon it literally exploded
Maybe they made a typo in the recipe and the amount of baking soda should be reduced? Not that I am suggesting that you try again.
Don’t they* always say how easy it is? I’ve come to the conclusion that the easier they* say it is, the harder it actually it is and they’ve* all come together to make this their* little joke!
*They – the people who can actually make these items. Whom-ever they may be.
hehe – o boy do I know your pain I’ve had a few “experiments” in the kitchen that have turned out like this too!
Thanks for the blog!