A Buffalo specialty confection: golden honeycomb toffee aerated with baking soda, then dipped in dark or milk chocolate. The honeycomb is brittle, melts on the tongue and has a hollow lattice inside.

Buffalo sponge candy traces to Fowler's Chocolates, which has made it since 1910, with Watson's Chocolates (1946) and Parkside Candy (1927) the other canonical makers. The chocolate-covered honeycomb toffee is a Buffalo-Niagara regional confection that rarely shows up outside Western New York, anchoring the city's gift-shop and holiday-confection trade.

Where to eat Sponge candy in Buffalo

3 editor picks for Sponge candy in Buffalo, ranked by editorial score. All Buffalo signature dishes · Sponge candy across every city.

  • Fowler's Chocolates

    Order Original sponge candy

    Fowler's Chocolates on Niagara Falls Boulevard is the original maker of Buffalo sponge candy, in business since 1910 and a city signature confection.

    DetailsDirections

  • Parkside Candy

    Order Sponge candy

    Parkside Candy on Main Street at Winspear is a 1927 candy temple, with a walnut soda fountain, oval Adam-period interior and Buffalo's signature sponge candy.

    DetailsDirections

  • Watson's Chocolates (Elmwood)

    Order Sponge candy

    Watson's Chocolates on Elmwood Avenue is the Buffalo city shop of the Western New York sponge-candy maker hand-crafting confections since 1946.

    DetailsDirections

Make it at home

Serves 11 hr 30 minIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda, sifted
  • 12 oz dark or milk chocolate, tempered or just melted

Method

  1. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment, allowing overhang.
  2. Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium without stirring until the syrup reaches 300 F (149 C) on a candy thermometer (hard-crack stage).
  3. Remove from heat immediately. Quickly whisk in the sifted baking soda. The mixture will foam dramatically.
  4. Pour into the prepared pan without spreading. Let cool completely, about 1 hour.
  5. Break the cooled honeycomb into bite-sized pieces.
  6. Dip each piece in tempered chocolate, transfer to parchment to set, and store in an airtight container with a desiccant.

Editor tip. Sift the baking soda or it clumps and you get pockets of bitterness. Work in a well-ventilated kitchen because the sugar is screaming hot.

Common allergens: Dairy (milk chocolate), Soy lecithin (in chocolate).