National Sponge Candy Day

Buffalo, New York, Mayor Byron W. Brown and Fowler's Chocolates designated September 21 as National Sponge Candy Day in 2015. Fowler's Chocolates carried the tradition on the following year, and the day has continued to be celebrated since, in Buffalo and beyond.

Sponge candy has a light and airy texture. The main components are sugar, corn syrup, water, vinegar, and baking soda. Tiny pockets of air are created from the interaction of vinegar and baking soda, giving it a sponge-like appearance, and thus, its name. It has a taste similar to toasted molasses and is considered to be part of the toffee family. Finished sponge candy is coated with dark or milk chocolate. Created in Buffalo but popular around the world, there are other names for sponge candy based on region, such as fairy food, honeycomb, honeycomb toffee, sea foam candy, puff candy, cinder toffee, molasses puffs, and angel food candy.

Sponge candy was created in the early twentieth century, possibly by Joseph Fowler, who is believed to have sold it at the Pan-American Exposition in 1901. Afterwards, he opened Fowler's Chocolates with his brother Claude. By 2023, there were about 20 confectioner brands in the Buffalo area that specialized in making sponge candy. Other well-known purveyors in the Buffalo area besides Fowler's Chocolates are Watson's Chocolates, Parkside Candy, Alethea's Chocolates, and Platter's Chocolate Factory. Anderson's Frozen Custard even makes a sponge candy ice cream, and Resurgence Brewing Company makes a Sponge Candy Stout beer. The area hugging the Lake Erie shoreline from Buffalo south to Erie, Pennsylvania, is known as the Sponge Candy Crescent—sometimes the area up to Rochester is also considered part of the crescent.

A number of Buffalo-area confectioners have celebrated National Sponge Candy Day in a number of ways. Watson's Chocolates and Visit Buffalo collaborated to give a pound of sponge candy a month for a year to a winner. Fowler's Chocolates has donated $1 for every pound of sponge candy sold on the day to FeedMoreWNY. Platter's Chocolate Factory has organized special giveaways and a sponge candy 5K, and opened their factory to the public.

How to Observe National Sponge Candy Day

• Make some sponge candy.
• Buy some sponge candy from a local confectionary.
• Have some sponge candy in the Buffalo area from a place such as Fowler's Chocolates, Watson's Chocolates, Parkside Candy, Alethea's Chocolates, or Platter's Chocolate Factory. (If you can't make it to Buffalo, many of its confectionaries ship across the country, so you could order some sponge candy for delivery.)
• Check to see if these or any other confectionaries are offering specials or hosting events in honor of National Sponge Candy Day.
• You could also have some sponge candy ice cream from Anderson's Frozen Custard or a Sponge Candy Stout beer from Resurgence Brewing Company.

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