Easily one of the most satisfying treats you’ll ever make. My 4 ingredient maple honeycomb candy is the perfect sweet sponge toffee to make. Whether you call it cinder toffee, honeycomb candy or sponge toffee, you will not be disappointed by this no-bake vegan and gluten free recipe. Less than 15 minutes to make!
Why I Made This
I adore honeycomb and our kids love watching the process when it’s being made. This is a wonderful quick treat to make if you have a sweet craving.
Why You Need to Make This
This is a classic sweet treat that takes less than 15 minutes to make. Simple ingredients and extremely satisfying to eat. Why not dip pieces in chocolate and bag them up as a gift for someone special?
Ingredients and Substitutions
This is a no bake vegan and gluten free recipe that uses simple ingredients. As such there are no major allergens or substitutions.
I love that this simple recipe uses 4 common ingredients:
- white sugar
- maple syrup
- water
- baking soda
And that’s it. You can’t get much simpler than that for an easy sweet treat,
How to Make Maple Honeycomb
Recipe Tip: I advise making sure that you have everything set up that you will need before you start the recipe so that you are not scrambling for something once the sugar mixture reaches the desired temperature. Start by greasing an 8×8 inch baking pan and then add in some parchment paper. This will make it easy to remove the honeycomb from the pan once it has cooled.
Heating the Ingredients
Add 80ml (1/3 cup) water, 200 grams (1 cup) white sugar and 80 ml (1/3 cup) maple syrup to a large saucepan and bring it to a boil. There is no need to stir the mixture – you can simply swirl the pan carefully instead.
Place your candy thermometer on the side of the saucepan as we will need to keep an eye on the temperature. The mixture will boil very quickly because there are not a whole lot of ingredients in there and it will take on a beautiful caramelized colour from the maple syrup.
After five minutes the mixture will have lots of bubbles developing. Keep boiling the mixture until it reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit. This heating and boiling stage took about 10 minutes in total for me.
Here’s Comes the Science Bit
A word of caution for this stage. We are working quickly with very hot sugar so you will need to take care. As soon as the sugar mixture reaches 300 degrees, remove the pan from the stovetop and pop it on a wooden board on your counter. Remove the candy thermometer and then quickly add two teaspoons of baking soda.
Immediately stir it in very quickly. And this is where the fun starts and my kids loved watching this. The mixture will expand as it reacts with the baking soda and forms large air bubbles. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and let it cool completely. Do not be tempted to smooth out the honeycomb as that will deflate all of the wonderful bubbles. The honeycomb will firm up as it cools.
Remove the honeycomb from the baking pan by lifting up the edges of the parchment paper and then break it up into pieces. How easy was that?
Top tip: if you want to make regular sponge toffee, omit the maple syrup. I do love the extra flavour dimension that it adds and would highly recommend you try it if you haven’t eaten maple honeycomb before. Look how beautiful it looks inside with its beautiful mapley colour. Pure sweet perfection.
Common Questions
Absolutely. Just note that the honeycomb will be thinner if you pour it out onto a larger baking sheet. Or you could easily double the recipe and make a full thick slab of honeycomb.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks (if you can resist it for that long!).
Yes, feel free to omit the maple syrup. You can either completely omit it or add another flavour if you prefer.
Other Flavour Suggestions
This 4 ingredient maple honeycomb candy is wonderful when dipped in chocolate with sea salt or crushed candy canes sprinkled on top. Perfect for holiday gifts.
Craving More Treats?
Check out more no-bake family favourites:
- An indulgent dessert with my Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes (vegan)
- A classic British sweet – 4 ingredient Coconut Ice (vegan)
- My kids’ favourite Rice Krispie Treats (dairy free)
- A throwback dessert – Chocolate Birds Nests (vegan)
4 Ingredient Maple Honeycomb Candy
Equipment
- Large Saucepan
- Spatula or Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 200 grams White Sugar (1 US Cup)
- 80 ml Maple Syrup (1/3 US Cup)
- 80 ml Water (1/3 US Cup)
- 2 tsp Baking Soda
Instructions
Prep
- Gather all of your ingredients and supplies. This recipe comes together very quickly.
- Grease then line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
To Make the Honeycomb
- Add 80ml (1/3 cup) water, 200 grams (1 cup) white sugar and 80 ml (1/3 cup) maple syrup to a large saucepan and bring it to a boil. There is no need to stir the mixture – you can simply swirl the pan carefully instead.
- Place your candy thermometer on the side of the saucepan as we will need to keep an eye on the temperature. Keep boiling the mixture until it reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove the pan from the stove top and pop it on a wooden board on your counter. Remove the candy thermometer and then quickly add two teaspoons of baking soda. Immediately stir it in very quickly.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and let it cool completely. Do not be tempted to smooth out the honeycomb as that will deflate all of the wonderful bubbles.
- Allow the honeycomb to cool completely before breaking up in to pieces. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- This recipe is made in an 8×8 baking pan. If you prefer to use a larger baking sheet, double the recipe and make a full thick slab of honeycomb.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks (if you can resist it for that long!).
- Check out the recipe post for other flavour suggestions.
- Nutrition information is based on the entire recipe. The serving size is variable due to the way the honeycomb is broken up. Please note that nutrition information is calculated based on the ingredients in this recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons
We made this on the weekend and it turned out so well. Love the maple flavor!
So happy to hear that! We love the maple as well.
Thought this would be a fun recipe to make with the kids. It was easy enough and they absolutely loved eating this honeycomb!
So happy to hear this!
I made this maple candy over the weekend and OMG was it delicious! This is my new weakness!
It’s so addictive!
The maple makes this honeycomb candy extra special! It was simple to make and tastes delish. We nibbled on half of it and I used the rest break into pieces and decorate a spice cake.
Love that you used some on a cake! Might have to steal that idea 🙂
This was super easy to make! My kids thought it was super fun and we all loved the maple flavor!
It’s such a fun treat to make with kids. Happy that you loved it!
I’ve never had anything like this. It’s super simple to make and love the maple flavor. Yummy!
So glad you liked it!
Such a fun activity to do with my girls this weekend, turned out great.
I agree – my kids enjoying making it as well. Glad you all had fun.
I had actually never made any type of homemade candy before I tried your recipe but this just looked so cool I had to give it a shot! It turned out great and was surprisingly easy to make too!
Thrilled that you tried the honeycomb, Anjali.
I remember making something like this as a kid with my mom, but it wasn’t maple flavored, just more sugar-based. Love the texture and maple flavor.
I’m so pleased to hear that Caroline. It definitely brings back childhood memories for us too.
It’s my first time to make this and it’s so easy. My friends loved it.
I’m so happy to hear that Gianne!
This is such the perfect sweet treat! 🙂 I have never made this kind of candy before, so I can’t wait to try this.
I hope you’ll love it. It’s so fun to make and eat.
Didn’t work for me – I may have cooked it too long over too low of heat. So I’m not going to review this recipe.
Also – you didn’t amend the US measurements for double and triple batches.
Sounds like you over cooked it. Unfortunately the recipe card does not upscale any measurements in the notes and I provide the US measurements as a secondary option. You can always use a calculator to multiply them.