YELLOWMAN! How great is that? Yellowman? I love it. The quirky Irish decriptor for Honeycomb, or what the ‘merican folks call cinder toffee. Such fun to make, a joy to eat (for all except your fillings who will retreat to the back of your mouth for safety), and a really ace little Xmas present for those you love from your kitchen.
But, wait! It’s not all fun and games. Making yellowman has it’s downsides. The first is the intense temperature, you need to heat the sugar & golden syrup to 150C to reach hard-crack stage, and you may burn yourself. Of course most of you won’t, but I did, and I have a nice cascade of blisters on my arm. The other, less described danger, is that you may find yourself wandering around your kitchen waving a jam thermometer with melted sugar spindles dripping off it, singing YELLOWMAN to the Elton John’s Rocket Man at the top of your voice.
It was all worth it. Even the burn.
It’s such fun to make. Once the sugar and golden syrup are ready, adding the bicarbonate of soda causes it to foam to about four times the original size like a rush of golden lava. And then it relaxes and you can pour it into your waiting tin and admire the bubbles, and the golden sheen, and wait until you can crack it, and devour it yourself. Plus, it’s ridiculously cheap to make, so take that recession, we can still have Christmas despite your grizzly presence.
What can you do with yellowman? Eat it, give it to friends, cover it in chocolate for delicious odd shaped infinitely better homemade crunchies, put it in some chocolate mousse, have it with chocolate cake. Endless chewy possibilities await.
I have a jam thermometer as I am that kind of kitchen geek, but don’t worry if you don’t. To test whether the concotion is at hard crack stage, wait until it is bubbling and turning a caramel brown, then put a spoonful on a plate and if it solidifies and cracks when you tap it, well you’re done.
My recipe doesn’t include butter as it really doesn’t need it. I also like it dairy free as that way everyone can enjoy it, including lactose intolerants like myself! I also add vinegar as this reacts with the bicarb to create lots of bubbles and you don’t taste it at all. Some recipes add water, I do too as it means the temperature increase is a little gentler and there is a smaller risk of burning it.
This recipe will fill a large tray, use whatever you have, just make sure it’s deep. Also use a deep pot, otherwise you will have honeycomb all over your stove pot!
Enjoy!
A Recipe for Yellowman (aka Honeycomb, Cinder Toffee)
Ingredients
300g White Sugar (caster or granulated)
200g Golden Syrup
100ml Water
1 tbsp Cider or White Wine Vinegar
2 heaped tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
Method:
Prepare your tin/dish by lining with lightly oiled baking parchment.
Heat the sugar, golden syrup, water and vinegar until it starts to turn amber and reaches 150C/the hard crack stage (explanation above).
Add the bicarb and stir thoroughly, then pour into your lined tin. Leave to cool to room temperature.
If you want it to be cut into ordered shapes, cut with an oiled knife when it’s nearly it room temperature. I like it to look a little rough and tumble so cut it when it’s cool.
Store in an air tight container or gift to friends in small transparent bags or jars. It is delicious covered in chocolate or with chocolate mousse.
I’d love to have a go at making this but the boat is rocking and rolling a little too much today for experiments with very hot, spluttering ingredients. I’ll just dribble over your photographs instead! Excuse me-slurp!
Haha! It really is fine, I am just super clumsy :)
OH my sweet lord, I LOVE HONEYCOMB!! Brilliant recipe, thanks for sharing m’dear :)
A pleasure, Sig :)
Yellowman! fabulous! Brings me back to the Lammas Fair in Ballycastle where i went every year as a kid :)
Fab! :)
omg i go to the lammas fair and i still do!!!!!! its is not as good as the first time i went :(
In NZ it’s called hokey pokey and we put it in ice cream. It’s like our national ice cream flavour or something.
Fab! Love all of the different quirky names it has :)
The most popular flavour of our goats’ milk gelato is the Honeycomb; more so even, than the Madagascan Royal Bourbon Vanilla (did you know that apparently 94% of “vanilla” ice creams in the UK don’t actually contain any vanilla at all? Criminal).
We got a Gold in the UK Great Taste Awards with the Honeycomb variety – our first-ever entry – so it was a real thrill. Mind you I think what really makes it isn’t just the enticing little shards of cinder toffee, it’s also swirled with loads of lovely, unctuous honey – from the bees right here on the farm.
And of course being goats’ milk you could eat it too, as it’s suitable for dairy intolerance – fancy being our “guinea pig” when it comes to our delivery box trials…?
OH MY GOODNESS! That sounds *amazing*. Would love to be your guinea pig :)
what a great recipe – I’m definitely making this, might give it a dip in some melted chocolate too. Not looking forward to the inevitable burns though…:-S
Haha! Rejina, it’s fine, promise. I am seriously addicted now. Have been eating it all week.
I love honeycomb, covered in chocolate I like it even more. I must make some too now!
Do! You’ll love it :)
Just tried this, and I think I need a jam thermometer! I didn’t burn myself, but I burnt the yellowman :( And then it exploded into about ten times the original size! Got it everywheeere. Am gonna try again with half the ingredients :)
I had never heard the terms cinder toffee or yellowman but I love them both!! We had a Cadbury factory in my hometown and at school fetes there woudl always be bags of reject Crunchie innards in odd shapes on sale – I love it! As somebody who is scared of even making caramel, let alone having a lava-like rush of hot sugar all over her stove (and potentially HER!), I might have to build up some courage to give this a go… but in the end I may be tempted!
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hey, never heard of using vinegar in the recipe so will have to try this, i make honeycomb and sell it around the place, also make different fudges and also make Scottish Sugar Tablet (My Fav), as i am aware, from making it etc, and being from near ballycastle, yellow man has a “fudge/Blackpool Rock/powdery” kinda texture to it, unlike the honeycomb brittle crunchy texture.
Regards
Dean
Hi Dean! Thanks for the info :) The vinegar helps kick start the bicarb. Niamh
I LOVE, LOVE your blogs. Below is the way I’ve prepared Yellowman~I thought they were only made in August.hehehe
Ingredients:
1 heaping teaspoon butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 cups corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar.
Method:
1. Melt butter in a sauce pan; coat the inside of the pan with the melted butter.
2. Add sugar and syrup and then the vinegar. Stir over low heat until the sugar and syrup have melted together.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer without stirring.Test by dropping a little into cold water to see if it sets.
4. Add the baking powder which will make the mixture foam up.
5. Stir well and then turn into a greased pan. Cut into squares.
Toffee as it used to be made: In the old days, the mixture would have been turned out onto a slab and pulled until it became pale yellow.
Thank you! This is wonderful.
Yay! That was fun :)
hi there, just thought i’d let you know that yellowman and honeycomb (or cinder toffee) are not the same thing. When the sugar mixture is boiled and poured into a pan, it should be left to cool for a few minutes until it’s still hot but ok to handle. Then it’s stretched and pulled over and over until it is golden yellow. Hence the name. The butter is essential for the unique flavour and colour. In Ireland we have honeycomb as well as yellow man and honeycomb is similar except it is not pulled therefore the bubbles remain. Hope this makes it a wee bit clearer to your readers.
Hi Linda. Not sure if you realise but I am actually from Ireland. Down South though, and we don’t have yellow man there. This is really good to know and now there is another recipe I must make! I researched at the time but found no information. Do you have a recipe by any chance?
Hi Niambh
I reckoned you were Irish. I meant to say in Co Antrim we have honeycomb as well as yellow man, not Ireland! I’m a Co Antrim woman and was brought up on this stuff. I have vivid memories of my mum stretching the yellow man whilst I grew more an more impatient! Remarkably I still have all my teeth! Anyway, here’s my recipe which is tried and tested many times over:
YELLOW MAN
INGREDIENTS
1oz butter
8oz brown sugar
1 lb golden syrup
2 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
METHOD
In a large saucepan gently melt the butter in a sugar, golden syrup, water and vinegar.
Stir until all the ingredients are melted, then boil until the mixture reaches the ‘hard crack’ stage (290F degrees). Tested by dropping a teaspoon of the mixture into very cold water, leaving for a moment, and then picking up and stretching to a thread in the water. The thread should break sharply. This should take about 6 minutes and is easiest when using a thermometer but if not, test every 30 seconds after about 4 minutes.
Once it has reached this stage, immediately stir in the bicarbonate of soda. The mixture will foam up to three times the volume. Pour onto a well greased oven tray. Stir the mixture and keep it moving. When it is cool enough to touch (be careful it’s very hot – so stir about 5 minutes) scrape the mixture out onto a board and form into a rough ball. Pull the mixture apart, stretching it and refolding, stretching again and repeating until it is starting to become cool and less pliable. It will become golden as it is stretched. Give one final stretch and lay out on the greased board to cool. When cold and completely hardened, break into pieces. Store in an airtight lined with waxed paper. Do not store in the fridge as it will go sticky.
The brown sugar and butter are essential for the beautiful deep golden colour. Here’s a tip, if the yellow man sticks all over your work surface, cover the surface in a damp teatowel and leave overnight, it’ll all be gone in the morning. Saves a lot of elbow grease!
Enjoy and mind your filling!
Linda x
Hi Linda, thank you so much for taking the time to post this. I can’t wait to try it :) (by the way – my grandmother was from Co Down :)
You’re very welcome Niamh. Your Granny is a lucky woman!