SUMMER EXPERIMENTS : SUGAR HONEYCOMB
Sugar: sweet, sticky, unhealthy, so easy to succumb and so many people are trying to avoid it. But what would desserts be without it?
When I make cakes I ususally take less sugar than what is written in the recipe, I don't like when it is too sweet - I always try to find the perfect "just enough" amount.
HOWEVER. Sugar is super interesting for a kitchen chemist! It can take so many different forms and get so many different flavours. Mastering sugar you can change and decide texture and enhance the eating experience of a cake or dessert. Sugar can be granulated or in syrup form - as you buy it in the store. Melt the sugar and you can make it soft or chewy as toffee, superthin, hard and brittle, or fluffy as in the shape of cotton candy - just to mention a few.
I watched another of my favourite TV-shows, The Fabulous Baker Brothers, and they turned sugar into a form I had never seen before: Sugar Honeycomb. You make a caramel (basically melted sugar) and add a spoon of baking soda into it. A lot of airbubbles appear and the sugar expands to at least three times it's size! Being very careful you pour the sugar onto a baking sheet and since sugar is an amazing material it will set, with all airbubbles intact (making it look like a honeycomb). When cooled down you can use it for decorating a cake or pastry, as rustic, homemade sprinkles on ice-cream or just eating it as candy. It is perfectly chrunchy and melts in your mouth, with the bitter caramel flavour balancing the sweetness.
I LOVE SCIENCE!
It took me five attempts to find the right recipe, or acutally six time since number five turned black and insured us that our fire detectors are working. I tried with sugar and syrup, sugar and honey, with and without water and different amount of baking soda. The biggest problem I had - besides getting large, nice airbubbles - was getting a good flavour. I really like that bitter caramel flavour, but it is all about seconds - warming the caramel a bit too long and it will get an almost burned flavour. Adding honey gives a soft honey flavour, which can be nice if you like that - but it will compete against the caramel a bit.
So my conclusion:
- Just sugar and water works fine (about 1:10 in proportions) - using only sugar makes it too hard too fast - Be careful when boiling the sugar - it is very hot and it should not get too dark, remove from heat when getting light golden, it will darken by the time you prepare the baking soda - When adding the baking soda, be superfast to combine it and pouring onto a baking sheet - stirring for too long will kill all the airbubbles
So I finally figured out the perfect recipe, it is so simple!
Makes enough to fill a 0,5 L container
1 dl sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp baking soda
1. Add sugar and water in a pot and let it melt on medium heat, do not stir - the sugar will crystalize and you will not get a caramel. It is okay to slightly tip the pot from side to side to make sure the temperature spreads evenly.
2. Let the mixture get light golden and remove it from heat. Add a teaspoon of baking soda and incorporate it quickly with a wisk och wooden spoon, it will bubble and expand in size.
3. A couple of seconds after you have added the baking soda pour the mixture onto a baking sheet. Do not mess with it, be gentle with the airbubbles.
4. Let it set in room temperature and cut or break into pieces when cooled down. Don't let it stand in the open air for too long - it likes to soak up moisture from the air. Store in an airtight container.
Garnish a cake or eat it as it is!
read my next post if you happened to forget the sugar on the stove and burned the whole batch
x /agnes elisabeth
