Gluten-Free Buffalo Sponge Candy

Sponge candy is Buffalo, New York’s chocolate-shop pride: a honeycomb-crisp toffee that shatters and melts at once, robed in chocolate. Sugar, syrup, gelatin, and baking soda do all the work — no flour has ever been invited.

Yield: About 40 pieces · Time: 1 hr + setting

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 1 cup (240 ml) light corn syrup
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp unflavored gelatin dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water
• 1 tbsp baking soda, sifted
• 1 lb (450 g) chocolate melting wafers or tempered dark chocolate

Directions

1. Line a 9×9 pan with parchment and oil the sides.
2. Boil the sugar, corn syrup, and vinegar to 300°F (149°C) hard crack.
3. Off heat, whisk in the gelatin mixture, then the baking soda — it will erupt into foam.
4. Pour into the pan without spreading; cool completely, then break into chunks.
5. Dip every piece in melted chocolate to seal it from humidity; set on parchment.

Pro tip: Humidity is the enemy — make sponge candy on a dry day and seal it in chocolate the same afternoon.

Gluten-Free Notes

As always on this site: ingredient formulations change, so verify the gluten-free label on every packaged product you use — especially anything milled, malted, or made in a shared facility.

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Browse more in Cakes & Desserts, or explore our gluten-free breakfast recipe database and hot cereal guide.