7 Kinds of Mind

Homemade crunchies

This week I decided to try something a bit easier, and then proceeded to choose one of the more difficult things I could make: Hokey Pokey, or Cinder Toffee as it is sometimes known. It’s basically a homemade Crunchie bar. It sounds like an easy enough recipe, just sugar, golden syrup and bicarbonate soda, but the difficulty comes in knowing the best time to mix it all together. When you boil the golden syrup and sugar, you need to wait for as long as possible before adding the bicarb (without letting it burn), or you’ll end up with the kind of sticky mess that is sure to mess with dentistry. I covered it in chocolate to hide the slightly bitter aftertaste that comes with the bicarb, plus anything covered in chocolate is pretty good.

Recipe

2 tbsp caster sugar

4 tbsp golden syrup

2 tsp bicarbonate soda

1. Put the golden syrup and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil on a medium heat, stirring constantly.

2. Once the mixture has begun to boil, turn the heat down to low and leave it for up to 7 mins. Only stir once or twice so that it retains heat. Keep a constant eye on the mixture as it can burn quickly if left.

3. Check the mixture by putting a drop in a glass of cold water, if it is sticky then leave it for a while longer. You want it to be hard and brittle.

4. When the mixture is ready, remove from the heat and immediately add the bicarb then stir until combined (this should be very quick)

5. Once the mixture has foamed up and the bicarb is mixed in, immediately transfer to a greased baking tray (I tend to just put a sheet of baking paper in as opposed to greasing – less washing up). Spread the mixture out a bit, but be careful not to flatten it too much or it will lose all of the air bubbles.

6. Leave it for 15 minutes.

7. Then either cut it up with a knife or just break it apart with your fingers, keep the pieces a decent size to aid the chocolate dipping.

8. Break the chocolate into pieces into a bowl then place it over boiling water in a saucepan and stir until melted.

9. Once the chocolate is melted, remove the bowl and saucepan from the heat. Take each piece of hokey pokey and dip into the melted chocolate ensuring that it is fully covered – you can use tongs or your fingers, whichever suits.

10. Place the dipped pieces onto a sheet of baking paper and allow to cool. If you are in a rush you can stick it in the freezer for 30 minutes.

11. Once the chocolate has hardened, enjoy!

[Image via http://www.petitepigchocolates.com] I didn’t have time to photograph mine before my colleagues devoured everything!