Sponge Candy turns a short list of pantry ingredients into crisp, airy pieces with a deep, cooked-sugar flavor. This handwritten version combines sugar, dark corn syrup, and vinegar, then adds baking soda just before pouring the bubbling mixture into a buttered pan. The accompanying newspaper clipping connects the recipe to the Candy Barrel and its owner, Mrs. Viola Smith, giving this little card a welcome bit of confectionery history. Its most important instruction is wonderfully brief: “Don’t spread.” Left undisturbed, the candy sets with the porous texture that gives it its name. Once cool, it breaks into irregular chunks, ready for a candy dish, a small gift bag, or a sweet bite alongside coffee.
Ingredients
- Butter (just enough to grease a 9 × 9-inch pan)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 1 tbsp vinegar (type unspecified on the card)
- 1 tbsp baking soda
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the pan
- Lightly butter a 9 × 9-inch pan.
- Measure the baking soda and have it ready before cooking the syrup.
Step 2: Combine the syrup ingredients
- Place the sugar, dark corn syrup, and vinegar in a large, heavy saucepan with plenty of room for the mixture to foam.
- Stir over medium heat until combined and the sugar dissolves.
Step 3: Cook until brittle
- Bring the mixture to a boil and continue cooking, avoiding unnecessary stirring.
- Cook until a small amount dropped into cold water forms hard, brittle threads that snap when bent.
- A candy thermometer provides a modern guide: the hard-crack stage is 300–310°F (149–154°C). Begin checking at 300°F. Exploratorium
Step 4: Add the baking soda
- Remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Immediately stir in the baking soda, mixing quickly and thoroughly just until incorporated.
- The mixture will foam and expand.
Step 5: Pour without spreading
- Immediately pour the foaming candy into the prepared pan.
- Do not spread, press, or flatten it.
Step 6: Cool and break into pieces
- Leave the candy undisturbed until completely cool and firm.
- Break it into irregular pieces.
Tips
- Prepare everything first: The candy must be poured promptly after the baking soda goes in.
- Use a roomy saucepan: The mixture expands considerably when the baking soda is added.
- Measure the soda carefully: The card specifies 1 tbsp; adding extra can leave an unpleasant taste.
- Break up soda lumps beforehand: This helps it incorporate quickly.
- Respect the “don’t spread” instruction: Let the foam settle naturally in the pan.
- Choose a dry day: Humidity can make finished candy sticky.
- Store airtight: Once completely cool, place the pieces in a tightly sealed container.
- Optional chocolate finish: Dip cooled pieces partly in melted chocolate and let them set before packing.
Transcription of the Original Recipe
Read or copy the transcription
Don't spread; Cool then break in pieces. Make one pound. Sponge Candy. 1 Cup sugar---1 Cup dark Corn syrup---1 tbsp. vinegar ---1 tbsp. baking soda. Combine sugar, corn syrup and vinegar in heavy sauce pan, cook till drop becomes in cold water, then remove from heat. Quickly stir in baking soda, mixing well and pour into buttered 9 by 9 inch pan over We are sure that many readers will thank you for your consideration, and they also should know that they will be getting the same candy as they had hoped to order from the Candy Barrel; we sponged the recipe there, and it is identi- cal. Maybe your grandmother had the same cookbook as that of the grandmother of Mrs. Viola Smith, the Candy Barrel's owner. The recipe: 1 cup sugar . . . 1 cup dark corn syrup . . . 1 tbsp. vinegar . . . 1 tbsp. baking soda. Combine sugar, corn syrup and vinegar in heavy saucepan, cook till drop becomes brittle in cold water, then remove from heat. Quickly stir in baking soda, mixing well, and pour into buttered 9-by-9-inch pan. Don't spread. Cool, then break in pieces. Makes 1 pound.
From Transcription to Instructions
The original directions are really short, just cook till a drop is brittle, stir in baking soda, pour and don’t spread, so our instructions break that quick note into clear steps so you won’t be surprised by what happens. We tell you to measure the baking soda and have it ready, use a heavy pan with room for foaming, remove from the heat and stir immediately because the mixture will puff up, and to pour without spreading; we also offer a hard‑crack temperature as an optional check.
Nutrition
Calories: 112kcalCarbohydrates: 29gSodium: 280mgPotassium: 5mgSugar: 25gCalcium: 10mgIron: 0.2mg
