Trader Joe's Sponge Candy

The pros: Trader Joe's Sponge Candy is a very sweet, textural, and not in the sense that the name might have you believe.

The cons:  If you've never tried this before, the texture might shock you and make you wonder why it's called sponge candy at all.

The verdict:  

The name sponge candy might conjure up an image of something similar to a Three Musketeer bar. However, that is not the case. Beyond Trader Joe's offering this, I had never previously heard of such a confection. However, Fowler's Chocolate website offers some clarification. If you are from Buffalo, NY then you are likely familiar with this. If you are from Australia you might refer to this as Honeycomb candy. If you are from the UK, then you might call this cinder toffee. Other regions of the US call this item names like seafoam, molasses puff, or fairy food. In any case, it is not a widely available confection because of the manufacturing process.

Regardless of what name you are calling this candy, perhaps the Aussie's have the best descriptive moniker for this item. The name sponge conjures up an image of a soft pillow like center, however honeycomb is a bit more solid and descriptive. This is quite crisp which I was not expecting. The center has the visual appearance of seafoam. The taste however seemed like a cross between a malted milk ball and a meringue. The milk chocolate seemed very sweet and the center was quite sweet too. I was hoping for a reprieve of the sweetness, but there wasn't any.

For $3.49, you are getting 8 ounces which is quite a bargain compared to buying the one pound option at Fowler's which will set you back nearly $25. While I haven't tried Fowler's and have nothing to compare it against, it's obviously significantly less expensive. I'm sure there are people who love this, but I wasn't a fan. This was just too sweet for my liking. If you like super sweet, then perhaps this might be a better fit.

Here is the visual run down of what you get if you buy this product:

The package of Trader Joe's Sponge Candy:

The nutritional information and the ingredients:

Out of the package you get:

Would I buy this again?  Trader Joe's Sponge Candy was a bit too sweet for my liking. A piece was good enough for me. I can't imagine actually eating an entire serving.

Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe's for a searchable list.

Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!