Old Fashioned Seafoam Candy Recipe

Choose an old fashioned Seafoam candy recipe and make yourself a sponge toffee treat. Seafoam is similar in taste to Divinity, but much lighter and foamier in its texture. It simply melts in your mouth!

Some candy lovers call it the brown-sugar divinity, but it also goes by other names: honeycomb, cinder toffee, or sponge toffee. Whatever you wish call it, it's a unique and delicious confection.

As a child, I always enjoyed eating this unique confection. It magically dissolves in your mouth as you bite into it leaving a chewy brown-sugar toffee. It's so good and perfect for serving on family game nights.

Old Fashioned Seafoam Candy Recipes

Mom's Recipe Scrapbooks (1920s)

Old Fashioned Seafoam

Two cups brown sugar, 1 cup cold water, 1 teaspoon of white vinegar, white of 1 egg. Cook sugar and water till it forms a soft ball in water; then add vinegar and pour it on the white of egg, and beat until when dropped from a teaspoon it will form into shape like a bonbon. —Fruit and Candies

Nutty Seafoam Candy

3 cups light-brown sugar, 1 cup cold water, 1-1/2 tablespoons white vinegar. Boil to hard ball stage (255°F), beat whites of 2 eggs and pour in the candy. Beat quite stiff, add nuts and vanilla.

Seafoam With Maple or Vanilla

2 cups brown sugar, 1/2 cup water, lump of butter (about 2 tablespoons); cook until syrup ropes. Pour over beaten white of 1 egg and beat well. Flavor with maple or vanilla. When begins to harden spread on a tin, mark in squares. Store in tight container.

Seafoam With Pecans

1-3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pecan flavored extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Combine light brown and white sugars, water, corn syrup, and salt in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Cook covered until mixture boils rapidly.

Remove lid, place candy thermometer in pan, and cook without stirring to 260°F (127°C). Remove from heat.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Pour hot syrup in thin stream over egg whites, beating constantly with mixer at high speed. Add vanilla and pecan flavoring. Continue beating until soft peaks form and candy starts to lose its gloss.

Stir in pecans and drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. When candy has set firm, store in airtight container. Makes about 50 average-sized pieces.

Seafoam Dipped in Chocolate

This old fashioned seafoam candy recipe makes a fudge that's VERY light and airy — in other words, SEA FOAM.

1 pound white sugar
1/2 pint water
4 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Butter or oil an 8-inch square baking pan; set aside. Put sugar, vinegar, syrup, and water in a heavy 4 quart saucepan (cast iron, if you have it).

Gently heat the mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar has dissolved and syrup has melted.

Bring to a boil, cover, and boil for 3 minutes, then remove lid and boil until temperature reaches 285°F (140°C) on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda, mixing well, but just until the bubbles subside a little. Pour hot mixture into prepared pan and leave until just beginning to set.

Mark into squares with a lightly oiled knife. Leave to cool and set completely. Cut or break into pieces. Dip in chocolate, if desired.

Chocolate Dip

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening
1 (1-ounce) square unsweetened baking chocolate

Combine chocolate chips, shortening, and baking chocolate in top of double boiler and heat over hot water to melt. Stir with a wooden spoon.

Dip candy pieces into chocolate, covering completely. Let cool on waxed paper. Wrap pieces individually in waxed paper, twisting the ends together, and store in an airtight container.

How to Make Seafoam Candy

Some old fashioned seafoam candy recipes call for beaten egg white to create the foamy texture of the candy, while others call for a tiny amount of baking soda that reacts with the vinegar and causes the mixture to foam. Here's a couple of tips:

• Try not to over-beat the egg white or the candy mixture. If over-beat, the candy will not have its characteristic density or lightness. Practice makes perfect.
• The white vinegar enhances the flavor of the candy and tends to cut its sweetness, but DO NOT overuse it, or you'll spoil your sponge toffee.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Seafoam Candy

Seafoam candy, also known as sponge candy or honeycomb toffee, has an interesting history. It's believed to have originated in the early 1900s, though no one knows exactly where. Some say it came from England, while others claim it's an American invention. Wherever it came from, it's delicious!

What makes seafoam candy so unique is its texture. When you bite into it, it's crunchy at first, but then it melts in your mouth like magic. It's like biting into a sweet, caramel-flavored cloud. The first time I tried it, I couldn't believe how something so light textured could pack such flavor.

For me, the nostalgia of seafoam candy isn't just about the taste. It's about the memories it brings back. I think of Grandma's kitchen, filled with the sweet smell of caramel. I remember the sound of the candy cracking as we broke it into pieces.

These old fashioned seafoam candy recipes offer us a little piece of the past that we can recreate in our own kitchens. And let's be honest, there's nothing quite like the satisfaction of creating something so delicious with your own two hands.