Seattlest can’t remember when exactly we first tried a Violet Crumble candy bar, but we can say that the experience was formative, like a first paycheck or a first, um, kiss. Around here, the hard-to-find Australian candy bar has a tiny cult following, but sadly not much more. Deliciously crisp and airy and coated in chocolate, the taste of Violet Crumble is unforgettable, but difficult to describe to the uninitiated.

The generic name for the candy center of a Violet Crumble bar is honeycomb. Not to be confused with honeycomb from bees, the candy version is at heart a simple honey-flavored toffee. What distinguishes it from regular toffee is a matter of form: baking soda, added at the very end of the cooking process, creates little air pockets throughout the candy giving it a characteristic honeycomb-like appearance.

Now, we are quite devoted to Violet Crumble, but it being a bit tough to find, and us being a bit weird about knowing how to make everything, we had to do it ourselves. Like cooking jam just until it gels, making candy holds a certain allure in that it is truly a transformative process. Something really happens when you cook it. Granulated sugar becomes molten liquid and then solid again and along the way the taste changes dramatically as it becomes caramel. A-mazing.

Also, candy-making involves a definite boost to your ego. People find it very impressive. Between us, it’s not exactly rocket science, but it is extremely satisfying. For this candy you don’t need much more equipment than a heavy pan. A candy thermometer is nice, but not essential.

For the long-deprived Violet Crumble devotees, or the newly curious, we’ve included a recipe for honeycomb after the break from Gordon Ramsay’s Just Desserts (a lovely pastry book that makes us hate him less for that heinous show). Achingly sweet and utterly delicious, this candy is worth overcoming any candy-making trepidation.

However, if you don’t fancy becoming a bonafide candy-maker, perhaps you might be able to tell us where in this backwater we can find some Violet Crumble.

Honeycomb
makes more honeycomb that you could ever wish for

75 grams honey (1/4 cup)
140 grams light corn syrup or glucose (1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon)
400 grams sugar (2 cups)
20 grams baking soda (3 1/2 teaspoons)

Prepare a sheet pan (preferably with sides) with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil and brush it with a thin coating of butter or oil. If you have a silpat, put that down and forgo the grease. Set aside.

Combine the honey, corn syrup and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan--one large enough to allow the mixture to quadruple in size (which it will do when you add the baking soda at the end). Moisten the mixture with enough water so that there are no dry patches of sugar; then wash down any stray sugar crystals that might be clinging to the side of the pan.

Set the pan on high heat and cook and cook and cook until a candy thermometer reaches 300 F or, if you don’t have a thermometer, until the mixture turns a light amber color. While the mixture is cooking, do NOT stir it at all. Stirring can cause the sugar to seize (one moment it’s fine, one moment it’s hard and crystallized). Don’t worry about it mixing properly, it will do that on its own when it starts to boil.

When the honeycomb is sufficiently cooked, take the pan off the heat. Dump in all of your baking soda and whisk vigorously until it is well combined; while you whisk, the honeycomb will foam up dramatically. After the soda is whisked in, gently pour the mixture out onto a prepared pan and allow to cool completely, about one hour.

Once cool, break into smaller pieces and store in an airtight container. Really, we mean airtight. A rubbermaid wrapped in plastic inside a ziplock freezer bag would be good. (Honeycomb is hygroscopic, meaning that it sucks in moisture from the air, leaving an unprotected initially crisp candy sticky and gooey in a matter of hours.)

Brush teeth immediately after consumption.