Gingerbread Chocolate Honeycomb (Cinder Toffee)

 

 

 

 

Gingerbread chocolate honeycomb is the favourite Bonfire Night treat made Christmassy and festive. All you need is to add some spices, pour over some chocolate and finish off with some crushed gingerbread cookies.  

This quick homemade candy is perfect as a gift, eaten after a Christmas dinner, or just scoffed whenever you the fancy takes you. 

 

 

 

My gingerbread honeycomb

Making cinder toffee at home

Festive chocolate honeycomb

Preparing your pan

More Christmas recipes

 

 

 

 

 

 

My gingerbread chocolate honeycomb

This gorgeous gingerbread chocolate honeycomb is a festive twist on the popular traditional candy

I first made cinder toffee a couple of years ago. It was the first of my posts to ever go “viral” and so far, has amassed more than 100,000 shares over social media. 

Traditionally, in the UK we eat cinder toffee around the time of Bonfire Night (5th November). After making it for my blog, I was informed of so many different names for the same candy, such as angel food candy, hokey pokey and sea foam, to mention just a few.

For some reason, I thought adding traditional gingerbread spices into honeycomb would be a great idea. I was right. It was the best idea. I’ve got to be honest and say I wasn’t sure how well the gingerbread flavours would mesh with the cinder toffee itself but it worked beautifully. Shouldn’t have been surprised, though. The sweet toffee/caramel and ginger go so gorgeously well together in my apple and ginger cake. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making cinder toffee at home

Cinder toffee is surprisingly easy to make at home. The only slightly tricky moment comes right at the end, when you add the baking soda. From that point on, you’ll need to move at lightning speed. The mixture suddenly expands into a frothy, golden cloud, and you have just a few seconds to pour it out before it sets. But don’t let that moment intimidate you; the whole process takes only minutes, and the result is a light, crunchy candy that dissolves beautifully on the tongue.

What’s happening here is a little kitchen chemistry. As the sugar syrup heats, the sugar molecules break down and begin to caramelise, creating flavour and colour. When you stir in baking soda, it reacts with the acidic components in the caramel, releasing carbon dioxide gas. Because the mixture is thick and sticky, the bubbles get trapped. That’s what gives cinder toffee its signature airy honeycomb structure. As it cools, the bubbles solidify in place, leaving behind that crisp, delicate crunch.

To give you a better sense of the process, here’s how I make the classic version. I always top it with chocolate as it reminds me of one of my favourite chocolate bars: Crunchie. Even if you’re feeling unsure, my YouTube video below should help you picture each stage before you begin. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll see just how simple (and scientifically satisfying) homemade cinder toffee can be.

 

 

Festive chocolate honeycomb

It’s hard to improve on classic cinder toffee, but adding a gingerbread spice blend gives it a more interesting depth. The Swedish mix of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves threads a gentle heat through the sweetness without overwhelming the honeycomb’s light texture. As the spices bloom in the warm syrup, they add a subtle, aromatic edge that comes through cleanly in each bite. 

A coating of chocolate rounds everything out, softening the sharper notes and giving the finished honeycomb a balanced, grown-up finish. To finish off, there’s a sprinkling of gingerbread. It’s still unmistakably the candy you know, just with a little more character. 

I like to use a mixture of dark and milk chocolate, but you could use just milk, or even dark. White chocolate would be amazing with the crunch of gingerbread.

 

 

Prepare your pan

Start by lining a baking pan or tray with greaseproof paper. This will make it much easier to lift out the honeycomb once it’s set. You can use almost any size, but a few details are worth keeping in mind. My pan measures 24 cm × 22 cm (9½” × 8¾”), but the key is that it should be at least 5 cm (2″) deep. Any shallower, and the bubbling sugar could spill over, which is not only messy but also dangerous.

The pan you choose also affects the final texture of your honeycomb. A larger, shallow pan will give a thinner, airier candy, while a smaller, deeper tin produces thicker, more substantial pieces with a satisfying crunch. Consider the size of the pieces you’d like to serve or gift. Adjusting the pan is an easy way to customize the treat.

A tip for best results: make sure the paper is pressed firmly into the corners and sides of the pan, and leave a little overhang if possible. This creates handles that make it easier to lift the honeycomb out once it’s cooled, helping you avoid breakage and keeping those perfect airy pockets intact.