Seafoam

Growing up in the Portland suburbs, our family would take weekend trips to Lincoln City, Oregon, where we would inevitably seek out candy shops for salt water taffy and seafoam. I had no idea until much later that this candy goes by lots of other names: honeycomb, sponge candy, and hokey pokey (a version with peanuts, I think). It’ll always be seafoam to me, however, and it’s super easy to make. 

I was inspired to try my hand at it because I was looking for another gluten-free treat to add to my repertoire of holiday goodies so my uncle-in-law would feel well cared-for in the sweet department, especially in 2020!

I basically used the Serious Eats recipe and adapted to my preference to enrobe each piece of candy. Note that I did not temper the chocolate. I simply couldn’t be bothered but I had no trouble getting the chocolate to set at room temperature and none of my tasters complained in any way that the may not have had the perfect shine.

I like this recipe because it doesn’t even require a candy thermometer. My family liked it so much that the adults hid it from their kids so they didn’t have to share.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 c (300g) granulated sugar—for candy I tend to use superfine bakers’ sugar and not less-refined evaporated cane juice (see my toffee recipe for more on that)

2 TBSP light corn syrup

6 TBSP water (3 oz)

2 tsp baking soda

12 oz (approx) dark chocolate; I used Endangered Species Bold + Silky 72% chocolate which my family really loved

DIRECTIONS

1. Get a pan ready. I used a metal jellyroll pan, which works very well with this size of batch
2. Put the sugar, corn syrup and water in a medium to large heavy-bottomed saucepan (mine is 3qt) and heat over medium until the sugar dissolves, stirring frequently
3. Put the baking soda in a small dish and have it at the ready
4. Once the sugar has dissolved in the pan, stop stirring. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to wash down the sides of the pan if you see any sugar crystals 
5. Continue cooking the sugar mixture into caramel without stirring until it is a light to medium brown. The first time we made it, it was a bit sticky because we followed the Serious Eats cue of “very light golden” and that was too light for our tastes
6. Remove the saucepan from the heat and quickly stir in the baking soda, stirring for no more than a few seconds. It will foam up impressively
7. Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and let cool completely
8. Break or cut the candy into pieces when it is cooled, not expecting it to look neat and tidy
9. Melt the chocolate however you wish (I break into pieces and microwave for 2 minutes at 50% power, stir, and continue with 1 minute bursts at 50% until it is melted), tempering if you like. Just make sure you have it in a narrow deep bowl rather than a wide shallow one
10. Dip the pieces of candy into the chocolate to cover completely, then set on a parchment or silpat-lined tray. Let the chocolate firm up and then store in an air-tight container (or gobble it up!)