It's easy to make Cadbury Crunchie Bars at home. These chocolate-dipped sponge candy bars have a light, airy honeycomb center, and rich, creamy milk chocolate coating.
If you are a fan of Cadbury Crunchie Bars but can't find them in a nearby store, grab a few pantry items and make them at home.
With just 5 ingredients, you can make homemade sponge candy, cut it into bars, then dip it in chocolate.
This recipe is easy but you'll want to follow the instructions to ensure your candy is airy and thick enough to make nicely shaped candy bars.
How to make sponge candy?
This recipe is so simple, but it's important to cook the candy to the correct temperature in order for it to harden properly. You definitely want to use a candy thermometer or an instant-read thermometer. I love my Thermapen instant-read thermometer especially for candy making because it registers the temperature so quickly.
- Start by mixing sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. I used a 3-quart saucepan which has enough room for the candy mixture to bubble up into a foamy candy once the baking soda is added. Don't use a small saucepan as the candy will overflow the pan.
- Heat the sugar and corn syrup on medium heat.
- Stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Once bubbles start to form, quit stirring.
- Let the syrup boil until it reaches 300°F-305°F.
- This should take 4-6 minutes. On a gas stove, it typically takes 4 minutes. It may take longer if you are using an electric stove especially if your burner turns on and off as it heats.
- Once the sugar reaches 300°F, remove it from the stove and immediately pour in some vanilla (for flavoring) and baking soda.
- Stir to combine the ingredients.
- The baking soda will cause the sugar syrup to bubble up a lot.
- DO NOT touch the hot candy. It will seriously burn your skin.
How to make homemade sponge candy bars?
- Grease a non-stick loaf pan with butter and line it with a strip of parchment paper.
- Pour the hot candy into the loaf pan if you want to make homemade Cadbury Crunchy Bars. I used an 8-½ x 4-½ x 2-½ inch loaf pan but a 9x5-inch loaf pan will work fine too. If you are just making sponge candy and don't care if it is in bars, you can simply pour the candy onto a parchment paper-lined baking tray.
- Let the candy harden for about 40 minutes then remove it from the pan.
- Use a serrated knife to score the large bar into eight 1-inch wide candy bars. Use the knife in a sawing action to score the bars.
- Then, break the bar along the score lines. You will get 8 bars. Some may crack but you should get several nicely-shaped bars to dip in chocolate. You can also dip any broken pieces.
- If you poured the candy onto a baking tray, just simply break it into pieces. It's rather easy to break the airy candy.
Dip sponge candy in chocolate.
- Melt and temper pure milk chocolate or melt light cocoa candy melts. See my chocolate-making tips page for detailed instructions. If you use pure chocolate made with cocoa butter and you do not temper it, your chocolate will not harden properly and may bloom (white spots or streaks of cocoa butter will show on your chocolate).
- Dip a piece of sponge candy into the milk chocolate.
- Use a dipping fork or a kitchen fork to lift the sponge candy out of the chocolate.
- Tap the handle of the fork on the edge of the bowl a few times. This will cause any excess chocolate to drip off the candy.
- Set the chocolate-dipped sponge candy on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Repeat until all the candy is dipped.
- Chill in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes until the chocolate hardens.
- Remove and let the candy warm to room temperature before serving.
Storage
Store your chocolate-dipped honeycomb candy bars in an airtight container, preferably in a metal cookie tin, for up to one month.
The sponge candy will soften over time or will even "melt" if exposed to air for extended periods of time, that's why it's best to coat it in chocolate.
RECIPE
If you have fallen in love with Cadbury Crunchie Bars but aren’t able to find them in a store near you, don’t fret. Using just five ingredients, you can make this copycat chocolate-coated honeycomb (sponge) candy recipe at home.
- ⅔ cup Dixie Crystals Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
- ⅓ cup light (or dark corn) syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 12 ounces melted and tempered pure milk chocolate or melted light cocoa candy melts
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Line a non-stick loaf pan with a strip of parchment paper for easy removal.
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Combine the granulated sugar and corn syrup in a medium (2 or 3 quart) saucepan.
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Set the pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves and bubbles start to form.
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Stop stirring and allow the sugar to come to a boil.
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Allow the mixture to boil until it reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit. This should take 4-6 minutes.
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Once the sugar reaches 300 degrees, remove it from the heat and immediately pour in the vanilla and baking soda.
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Stir until well incorporated. The mixture will bubble up and become foamy.
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Pour the hot candy into the prepared pan. Do not scrape the saucepan nor spread the candy into the loaf pan. You don’t want to deflate the air bubbles in the candy.
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Let the candy rest at room temperature for 40 minutes.
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Then, lift up on the parchment paper and remove the candy from the pan.
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Use a serrated knife to score the block of candy into eight 1-inch wide strips.
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Break the honeycomb (sponge) candy along the score lines. You might not get 8 perfect candy bars but even the smaller pieces will look and taste good dipped in chocolate.
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Dip the honeycomb bars into chocolate.
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Dip the entire candy bar in chocolate, then lift it out using a dipping fork and allow the excess chocolate to drip off. It’s important that you make sure there are no holes in the chocolate as sponge candy will soften and even melt over time when exposed to air.
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Set the chocolate-dipped candy bar on a parchment paper (or silicone mat) lined baking sheet.
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Chill the candy bars in refrigerator for 10-20 minutes until the chocolate hardens.
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Remove from refrigerator and allow the Crunchie Bars to come to room temperature before serving.
Store your candy bars at room temperature in an airtight container (preferably a metal cookie tin) for up to a month.
To clean your pan, fill it with a few cups of hot water, then bring the water to a boil. Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to scrape any hardened candy off the sides of the pan.
You will have some extra melted milk chocolate. You can spread it into an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, harden it, then break it into pieces, and save it for another use.
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George L. Oguda says
I will definitely try this out. I used to love the Cadbury's Crunchie but they are not there in the shops anymore. Thanks from \Kisumu, Kenya.
Beth Klosterboer says
I hope you enjoy the recipe.
NachoMama says
My great great great grandparents owned a chocolates shop in Chicago. I still use their chocolate covered cherries recipe every year for Christmas. I give them out to my friends for Christmas gifts. I get asked at least once or twice a week year round when I am making them again.
Beth Klosterboer says
How fortunate you are to be able to share your great, great, great grandparent's candies with your friends and family today. I'm sure they are amazing.
Safiyyah says
Love the homemade crunchy bars, going to have a go at making the popcorn next
Beth Klosterboer says
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed making these Crunchie Bars. I hope you love the popcorn too!
Jenni M says
Was looking forward to making this… But not sure if it’s just my phone or because I’m reading this on a mobile device… But I don’t see the ingredient listing with measurements. BTW - The pictures look even better than the candy bar! Jenni
Beth Klosterboer says
Hi Jenni,
I created this recipe for Dixie Crystals so you need to go to their site in order to get the printable recipe with quantities. Use this link https://www.dixiecrystals.com/recipes/copycat-cadbury-crunchie-bars?utm_source=Hungry+Happenings&utm_medium=Blog+%2B+Social&utm_campaign=copycat+cadbury+crunchie+bars
I hope you enjoy making the candy bars.
Maggie Herr says
The recipie is no longer on that page. Any chance you can post the recipie? I've tried others and they just didn't turn out as well.
Beth Klosterboer says
Hi Maggie, Thanks for letting me know! It appears as though Dixie Crystals has changed their website. I'll post the recipe here tomorrow but in the meantime, I'll send a pdf file of the recipe to your email. I'm glad you like the recipe!