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20% OffBuffalo, NY is famous for chicken wings, but they also have another claim to fame – Gluten Free Buffalo Sponge Candy. Sometimes I think I must live in a special bubble where no information penetrates because I have only just recently learned of Sponge Candy. Not only have I been a Professional Pastry Chef for years, but I have worked for the past 10+ years for a company who is headquartered in Buffalo, NY. I’ve been in that town a lot over the years, so there is NO excuse for me missing this one. But, now that I’m clued in, I had to make this myself.
But, what is sponge candy?
It’s this light, airy, crunchy and crispy molasses-tasting lattice structured (is that enough adjectives?) cooked sugar that can be coated with milk or dark or flavored (orange most likely) chocolate. Once you bite through that chocolate coating, it’s like sweet molasses air that melts on your tongue. Think of those experiments you did in grade school with your volcano – you combined baking soda with vinegar and it produced all this bubbling up – or carbon dioxide. Well – that’s what is happening here.
I l.o.v.e. this stuff. It could be my love of cotton candy – all that delicious air spun sugar that also melts on your tongue. Or maybe it’s just my love of sugar. No matter.
Any history here?
Not that I could find. There are lots of theories out there about how it was a happy accident – similar to the toll house cookie origin story. Or the story about the Whitt family, who owned Ko-Ed Candy Shop in South Buffalo from 1985, made it famous when they started mass producing sponge candy. No hard evidence out there. And, I find it interesting that I grew up in Pittsburgh and lived in both Cleveland and Philadelphia, which are relatively close to Buffalo, but sponge candy was just not a thing you would find in those cities.
All I know is that I’m glad that I’m trying this in what is considered the ‘winter’ in the south – meaning it’s below 80 degrees down here. I could see why this would not be a popular southern candy with all the humidity and heat here in the south. Not a kind environment for cooked sugar. Even in the north, if any of the sugar is exposed to the air for even a brief amount of time, that sugar will turn all sticky and chewy – not what we’re going for.
I didn’t feel like I needed to reinvent the wheel here so I searched the internet for recipes and found plenty. Like I mentioned above, the baking soda and vinegar together is what creates the lattice sugar structure for the light and airy texture. So, I decided to try this recipe from Epicurious. It’s exactly what you’d expect – sugar and dark corn syrup, vinegar and baking soda. The featured image is the recipe from Epicurious.
But, then I came across this unique approach to Buffalo Sponge Candy. No vinegar in sight for this recipe from Wilde in the Kitchen. The author eliminated vinegar altogether and added bloomed gelatin and then the baking soda. The reaction is the same as with vinegar. I made each of these recipes twice and, although I liked both of them, I preferred the very open structure of the recipe from Epicurious. So, I’m providing you both and you get to choose.
This is the structure of the recipe made with gelatin.
So, let’s get started.
Heavily Adapted from [Wilde in the Kitchen|http://wildeinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2011/03/if-at-first-you-fail.html ] and www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sponge-candy-2797
Yields About 2 dozen pieces depending on size of each candy
20 minPrep Time
15 minCook Time
2 hr, 35 Total Time
Save Recipe
Ingredients
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- 1/4 teaspoon gelatin, unflavored
- 1 teaspoon water, cold
- 1 and 1/2 cups (10.5 ounces) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (5.3 ounces) light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) water
- 1 Tablespoon (.5 oz.) baking soda, sifted
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- 24 oz.chocolate coating or
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- 1 package (11.5 ounces) Milk Chocolate chips
- 2 Tablespoons (1 ounce) coconut oil
- 1 cup (7.1 ounces) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (10.6 ounces) dark corn syrup
- 1 Tablespoon white distilled vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon baking soda, sifted
Instructions
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- Butter an 8″ or 9″ square pan.
- Create a foil sling by cutting a piece of foil the width of the pan and long enough so that it can run up the sides of the pan and extend over the top. This is how you will lift the sponge candy out of the pan once it cools.
- Butter the foil.
- Sprinkle the gelatin over the water (bloom) and set aside.
- In a heavy bottomed saucepan with high sides, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Gently stir to combine. Brush down sides with cold water if any sugar crystals have jumped up onto the sides of the pan.
- Place pan over medium heat and cook to 310F – you really need a candy thermometer for this one.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let sit 2 minutes. Sugar will continue to cook and color a bit.
- Add bloomed gelatin and stir to combine. Mixture will bubble.
- Gently whisk in baking soda.
- Return to heat and let cook an additional 30 seconds.
- Immediately pour into prepared pan. Don’t try to smooth it out or it will deflate and the top will no longer be smooth.
- Cool completely. It should take about 2 hours.
- Cut into square or desired shapes using a serrated knife.
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- Melt the Chocolate Coating according to manufacturer’s directions.
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- Melt chocolate chips in microwave safe bowl, 10 seconds at a time stirring after each 10 second interval, until melted.
- Whisk in coconut oil until well blended.
- Using a dipping fork or regular fork, dip the sponge candy into melted chocolate and shake off extra.
- Place candy on parchment and allow chocolate to dry.
- Store candy in airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 1 month.
- In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and vinegar and stir gently to combine.
- If any sugar crystals jump onto side of pan, use a clean pastry brush and cold water to brush down the sides.
- Cook sugar mixture over medium heat to 300F (about 10 to 12 minutes).,
- Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. Pour immediately into prepared pan. Do not try to smooth out or it will disturb the structure. Just let it flow into the pan.
- After cooled, about 2 hours, use foil to assist in lifting candy from pan.
- Using a serrated knife, cut into pieces of desired size. Please note that this is a messy process.
- Prepare chocolate coating or milk chocolate glaze and follow instructions above.
http://glutenfreefarina.com/2016/11/27/gluten-free-buffalo-sponge-candy/
Buon Appetito!
