Mince Pie Honeycomb Crunchies

Here's my first non-traditional bake for the season - combining two of my loves, mince pies and honeycomb crunchies :)
For the mincemeat, either buy a good quality jar or follow my simple recipe here. 

Makes 16 bars/squares

Ingredients:

For the honeycomb:

• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 75g caster or granulated sugar
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the chocolate:

• 250g milk chocolate
• 100g dark chocolate
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 120g butter

For the pastry/shortbread:

• 60g plain flour
• 30g cornflour
• 60g butter
• 30g caster sugar

To finish:

• 150g good quality mincemeat
• 50g white chocolate

Method:

1. Make the pastry. Preheat the oven to 170c/160c fan/gas mark 4. Grease and line the base of a 20 x 20cm cake tin.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift in the plain and cornflour and bring the mixture together with your hands, until no more flour is visible. Shape into a ball - try not to overwork the pastry.

3. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

4. Roll out to about 1/2cm thickness and place in the cake tin - the shape doesn't matter as you will be breaking it into shards (to depict the deconstructed mince pie pastry).

The pastry before baking

5. Bake for 20 minutes until the sides are starting to go slightly golden. Take out of the oven and leave to cool fully on a wire rack.

The pastry after baking

6. Make the honeycomb. Grease and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Have a wire whisk and bicarbonate of soda close to you and a saucepan.

7. In this saucepan, heat the golden syrup and sugar together. Stir until the sugar has melted, then leave the mixture to boil (without stirring). Keep on a low-medium heat until the honeycomb mixture is becoming a deep caramel colour (about 5 minutes). Swirl the pan occasionally to prevent burnt spots from forming.

Stir whilst the sugar is melting (i.e no big lumps of sugar are visible)

Leave boiling...

Until this colour is reached

8. As soon as the deep caramel colour develops, take off the heat, add the bicarbonate of soda, and whisk. The mixture will bubble up a lot so be very careful! After around 4 whisks around the pan, pour onto the prepared baking tray.

9. Leave for 30 minutes to set.

10. Make the chocolate. In a saucepan melt the butter, golden syrup, and chocolates together. Once the mixture is smooth, take off the heat.

11. To assemble, line a sandwich box or 20x20cm cake tin with clingfilm. Break the pastry and honeycomb into shards. In a large bowl, combine the pastry and honeycomb shards and mincemeat. 

12. Pour over 2/3 of the chocolate. Stir to fully combine all of the ingredients, then pour into the prepared tin. Top with the remaining third of chocolate.

13. Cover and refrigerate for around 1 hour until set. If you are in a hurry, freezing for 15 minutes will reach the same result.

14. Melt the white chocolate by placing squares in a bowl, and microwaving in 20 second bursts (at full speed). Once melted, pour into a piping bag. Pipe horizontal lines over the mixture, then use the back of a spoon to drag lines vertically though the white chocolate. This creates the feathering effect. 

15. Refrigerate again for  10 minutes. Cut into bars/squares.

16. Enjoy!

Got any Christmas recipes you'd like me to try? Message me here or send me an email. I love baking so I'll try anything!

White Chocolate and Ginger Honeycomb Crunchies

As my blog title implies, I love Honeycomb Crunchies, and wanted to try a variation on the original (http://honeycombcrunchies.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/brons-orange-chocolate-honeycomb.html). I used the ginger biscuits I made in my last blog post (see here: http://honeycombcrunchies.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/budget-friendly-delicious-ginger.html), to give a ginger kick, and white chocolate for added sweetness. They turned out really well – very different from the originals but perfect combination of sweet and gingery.

Ingredients:

• 100g ginger biscuits
• 300g white chocolate
• 50g butter
• 4 tbsp golden syrup
• 75g caster sugar
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method:

1. Make the honeycomb. Place the caster sugar and 2 tbsp golden syrup in a saucepan and heat, stirring at first to dissolve the sugar in the syrup.

2. Grease a baking tray, and have it and the bicarbonate of soda and whisk ready by the pan.

3. Leave bubbling for 5-8 minutes, until the mixture is a medium caramel colour. Add the bicarbonate of soda and whisk quickly. The honeycomb will bubble up so be careful not to touch it.

4. Pour onto the prepared tray and leave to set (this takes about half an hour).

5. Snap the ginger biscuits and honeycomb into similarly sized shards.

6. Melt the white chocolate with the butter and golden syrup.  Once melted, leave to cool for a few minutes. Pour in the broken up ginger biscuits and honeycomb and stir to evenly distribute.

7. Prepare a tub by lining with clingfilm. Pour in the mixture and place in the fridge for 2-4 hours to set (if you are in a rush, it will set in the freezer in about half an hour).

8. Cut into squares and enjoy.

Like these? Then try out the classic Orange Chocolate Honeycomb Crunchies :D

Bron's Orange Chocolate Honeycomb Crunchies

I am a honeycomb fiend and make it several times throughout the year. I've adapted it from a recipe by the baking queen Mary Berry, all my family and friends adore it. It's a great treat for any occasion, so get baking, and I promise you will not be disappointed!

This recipe makes 16 large squares of delicious-ness.

Ingredients:

75g caster or granulated sugar
4 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
150g orange chocolate
100g milk chocolate
100g butter (margarine also works)
150g biscuits (My preference are malted milk biscuits)

Method:

1. Prepare for the honeycomb! Get a baking tray, and line with greaseproof paper. If you don't have any paper, you can grease with butter, but I've found the honeycomb tends to stick to the tray. Also have a whisk on hand, and the tray near to the hob.

2. Heat 2 tbsp of the golden syrup with the sugar in a pan (on low-medium heat). Stir with a wooden spoon at first to dissolve the sugar, then leave, swirling occasionally.

3. Keep an eye on the pan. You want the colour of the mixture to turn to a caramel colour (see below). This usually takes from 5 to 10 minutes, but I've found it depends on your own pans/hob. 

4. Once the caramel colour has been reached, turn the heat off and add 1tsp bicarbonate of soda. Very quickly whisk the honeycomb, and once the bicarbonate of soda is whisked in, pour onto the prepared tray (see below for how much the honeycomb expands!!). This is a very quick reaction, and be VERY careful not to touch the mixture. Leave to set. If you are in a hurry, you can put the honeycomb into the fridge now. Otherwise it'll take about 10 minutes to become solid.

5. Whilst the honeycomb is setting, break the chocolate into another pan with the butter and the remaining 2 tbsp golden syrup. I use orange and milk chocolate here, but use whatever mix of chocolate you prefer – it's very fun to experiment. Heat gently until the chocolate and butter have melted.

6. Once the honeycomb has set, break the honeycomb and biscuits into pieces (of your choosing depending on how much you love honeycomb), and add to the chocolate. Stir to combine, then pour into a lined tub. I find a standard lunch box lined with cling-film works perfectly, but lining any tin or tub (provided the mix fits in) will work. Place in the fridge, and leave for approximately 1-2 hours to set. Again, if you are in a rush, you can place the tub in the freezer, where it will only take 30 minutes to be set enough to cut.

7. Cut into squares, and devour.

NOTE: After you have made the honeycomb, run very hot water into the pan immediately to remove the residual honeycomb in the pan. This will make your life A LOT easier when it comes to washing up, believe me. 
NOTE 2: You'll find after making the honeycomb a few times how dark you like to get the caramel before the bicarbonate of soda addition. A lighter colour (cooked for less time) will result in a deliciously chewy toffee-like honeycomb, whereas leaving it longer makes it amazingly crunchier, and leaving it longer still makes it super crunchy, but also more bitter. Just experiment and have fun testing the honeycomb on your friends and family!

Like this recipe? Why not try a variation - White Chocolate and Ginger Honeycomb Crunchies