Sponge Candy, Cinder toffee, Sponge toffee, whatever

[Desiderio]

You call it, is there any secret to it?

Admittedly I have never made it myself, is not a typical Italian candy (we do have rock sugar that is usually colored black and we hand it out to naughty/or not so naughty children on the 6th of January, Epiphany, it's called carbone, which is charcoal), anyway, at work they have a recipe (sugar, corn syrup, water, baking soda and vinegar) and I am supposed to make few batches. 

I have checked Greweling recipe and calls for gelatin, and all of the video I have watched on professional candy makers, they all use gelatin.

Do you have a specific process, tips? And do you use gelatin or not.

This is one of the videos I was watching, pretty straight forward, but their sponge looks so airy and super light. The couple of times I have tried, it still feels too heavy and glass like in some parts. I have not spread it and tried to just let it be.

Any tip, discussion is welcome :-)

 

Thank you

[curls]

I have not made sponge toffee but have seen some demos. From what I recall, all versions will have toffee that is not airy, usually around the outer edges. Many shops cut off these more solid areas and use the waste in other products like barks. Also, as in the video, an warm insulated container to rest and slowly cool the finished batch helps it keep its loft.

 

Hopefully some of our members who have made sponge toffe will also see your post and share their advice. Good luck!

[Desiderio]

Thank you, I didn't even think about the slower cool down part, it makes sense, and our kitchen is quite cold.

[patris]

I have made it a few times (small batches, not commercial kitchen sized) - I will definitely second the slow cooling. I turn my oven on the "warm" setting for a few minutes, just enough to warm it up a bit - maybe 130 degrees or so? - and then turn it off. Once I have quickly stirred in the baking soda I pour it without scraping into a well-greased pan, pop it in the warm oven and let it cool completely (for several hours or overnight) with the oven door closed. It keeps good volume but, like @curls said, there is quite a bit of non-aerated product all around the edges, with the sponge in the middle. I generally use a 9 x 13 pan for a single home batch but if I made it more often I would probably consider getting a smaller square, high-sided pan to see if I could get more usable product.

 

The recipe I use does not include gelatin but I am considering trying it with - I'm a Buffalonian and the texture of the sponge candy that is ubiquitous around here (like Fowler's, featured in your linked video) is super tender and airy, and I suspect the gelatin is responsible for that. Mine is good flavor-wise, but can be a little harsh and shreddy on the tongue and palate.

[keychris]

I'm certain we've had this exact discussion relatively recently, perhaps @Pastrypastmidnight was involved? It was a while ago but I seem to remember someone doing tests with and without gelatine.

 

Edit: a quick search and voila: 

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by keychris (log)

[Tri2Cook]

When Heston Blumenthal does aerated chocolates, he places the molds in a vacuum chamber and pulls enough vacuum to increase the bubbles and loft then leaves it under vacuum until the chocolate sets. Would that work with sponge toffee? I'd take one for the team and find out but I don't own a chamber sealer. If someone else decides to take one for the team, I accept no responsibility if you end up with hardened sugar all over the inside of your machine. 

[Desiderio]

I think I figured it out, more or less.

Kitchen is really cold and we don't have ovens (they told me that I have two wall ovens at the new facility that is been built, let's hope I get to see it soon). Anyway I made tents with cardboard boxes and use the heat gun to keep it warm for a bit before, and after i poured the blobby mess.

Also I am curious to push the experiment farther and let the blobby mass on the stove and let it grow and set and the pour, like we see in the video I have posted. I will need to use the larger kettle or 1/2 the recipe, because I have tried with this last batch and I chickened out since it was raising above the edge of the kettle 😜