Dark Sponge
Yesterday, I wrote about the Violet Crumble. No raves, but a generally positive review. I should note that I actually tasted the Violet Crumble about a month ago, and my review of it was based on the notes that I took when I tasted it. I didn’t taste the Dark Sponge until a week ago, so the it was not able to taint my review of the Crumble. That being said, the Dark Sponge is sooo good, I wish I had bought pounds and pounds of it instead of just two pieces.
Fix everything that wasn’t quite right about the Violet Crumble, and you would have the Dark Sponge, a piece of real honeycomb covered in dark chocolate. Unlike the almost-too-sweet Violet Crumble, the Dark Sponge is perfectly balanced. The real honeycomb personifies the slightly burnt sugar taste that the Violet Crumble attempted to emulate, only the Dark Sponge isn’t as painfully sweet, both inside and out. The Dark Sponge’s texture is far superior too. The honeycomb is crisp and nutty, with a great snap, and is reminiscent of toffee in delicately thin layers. And really, does a candy cross-section get more beautiful than that of the Dark Sponge?
When I revisit Economy Candy (and believe me, I will revisit Economy Candy), I will definitely buy more of these half-dollar-sized guys. I thought I had one more left, but when I went to eat it today, it turned out to be a piece of chocolate-covered ginger instead. Oh, the candy disappointment of that moment (though the ginger was still pretty good)!
This is a standby at almost any homemade candy shop on the Oregon Coast that sells saltwater taffy, available in dark or milk chocolate. Dark, obviously, is best. But we call it “seafoam” around these parts. It is definitely one of my lifelong, all–time favorites.
Does this exist in other parts of the country, too? I never thought of it as particularly “regional”, just more of a “beach candy” like salt water taffy.