CHOCOLATE DIPPED PECAN HONEYCOMB

Simple, fun and quick to make with just a few ingredients. Be careful as the sugar gets very hot. Not suitable for children to make unsupervised. Many thanks to Naomi Hansell for the recipe.

Ingredients

• 50g pecan nuts, shelled

• 300g caster sugar

• 120g golden syrup

• 4 tsps bicarbonate of soda

• 100g milk or dark chocolate for dipping

1. Start by putting the chocolate for melting in a small heatproof bowl on the back of the AGA to melt while you make the honeycomb. This can also be done in the warming oven for 15 mins.

2. Toast the pecan nuts for 3 – 5 mins until lightly coloured on the AGA simmering plate, lined with a piece of Bake-O-Glide. Roughly chop the toasted nuts and place them in a deep roasting tin lined with Bake-O-Glide.

3. Measure the bicarbonate of soda out into a little dish, breaking up any small lumps, so that it is ready for when you need it.

4. To make the honeycomb, heat the sugar and golden syrup in a stainless steel pan on the simmering plate, not stirring with a spoon but just gently swirling the pan to help the sugar dissolve. Continue to heat on the simmering plate until it becomes a caramel. If using a sugar thermometer this is 150℃. To judge by eye, tilt the pan and the caramel in a thin layer across the bottom of the pan should be a chestnut colour. It will just be starting to have a slightly bitter caramel smell. Be careful as the sugar mixture will be very hot.

5. Working quickly, add the measured bicarbonate of soda to the caramel, stir very carefully but quickly with a wooden spoon and pour, in a single movement, into the tin with the nuts on the bottom, starting at one end of the tin and moving slowly to the other so that the honeycomb is reasonably well distributed. The caramel mixture will start to foam as soon as you add the bicarbonate and will continue to foam once into the tin.

6. Be careful not to touch or spread out the honeycomb once in the tin or it may lose some of its shape.

7. The honeycomb cools quickly at room temperature. After 15 – 20 mins it can be turned out of the tin and broken or cut into bite-sized pieces.

8. Finish by dipping each piece in the melted chocolate, set aside on a large piece of Bake-O-Glide on a tray and chill in the fridge for a few minutes to set. The honeycomb pieces can be stored in a box in the fridge or in a cool place for several days.