Hokey Pokey Ice Cream {Honeycomb}

If you’re a Kiwi (New Zealander), Hokey Pokey needs no introduction! For the rest of the world though, those words are just hocus pocus. Hokey Pokey ice cream is one of the most popular ice creams in New Zealand, perhaps second only to plain ol’ vanilla. It’s a quintessentially Kiwi treat where rich creamy vanilla ice cream is mixed with crunchy bits of  honeycomb toffee (i.e. hokey pokey). It’s incredibly tasty and incredibly addictive, so much so that they even have rehab centers in NZ to treat those with hokey pokey addictions. Actually, that’s a lie. I made that last bit up. But you know what I mean. Whether you call it Hokey Pokey or Honey Comb or Sponge Candy, those who have tried it will attest to the fact that it’s one of a kind! It goes without saying though, that you won’t find this on a weight watchers diet plan. It is a sweet indulgence, but one that your taste buds will remember even after they have forgotten everything else.

Hokey Pokey Ice Cream in a Sugar Cone Bowl

As a child, this was (and still is) one of my favourite ice creams. Several years ago I used to work as a Barista in a movie theater in NZ. Part of my duties was rolling ice cream and one of the many awesome perks I had with this job was that I (along with others working there) was allowed to have free ice cream. Now that the statute of limitation has (probably) expired I can confess that what I often used do was keep aside (for myself of course) a Hokey Pokey ice cream in a cone that had plenty of extra bits of crunchy honey comb. (If by any chance, my old boss is reading this right now, I’m so sorry!)

Another memory I have as a 3 year old was of my parents buying me a Violet Crumble chocolate (chocolate coated honeycomb) and I remember accidentally leaving it in the garage. When I remembered and checked on it a few hours later, it had turned into melted, soggy sugar, which as a 3 year old, was devastating! So I learnt that Hokey Pokey must be stored away carefully – in a dry, air tight container and even then it can get sticky – which is why it works so well crushed up in ice cream or slathered in chocolate (dark chocolate is even better).

Crushed Hokey Pokey ready for Ice Cream!

This recipe for Hokey Pokey has been adjusted for a small batch. You can easily double the recipe – but avoid tripling it. The reason being it expands a lot as you cook it (I mean it really expands), so you will need a much larger pan, and a large whisk to make sure the baking soda disperses properly.

Hokey Pokey

Author: Dini from Giramuk's Kitchen

Print

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp golden syrup you could use corn syrup or molasses instead
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tbsp white vinegar

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan (the saucepan needs to be large as the sugar will expand) place the sugar, golden syrup and vinegar.
2. Melt the sugar on medium heat and let it come to a boil.
3. Boil the mix on medium low heat for about 2-3 minutes, or until it reaches "Hard crack" stage (which will be at 300 F), or until a drop of sugar when dropped in cold water will form a hard ball. The sugar mix will be a thick bubbly liquid.
4. Remove the sugar mix from the heat and add the baking soda and whisk immediately. The sugar will start to expand and bubble up.
5. Pour the sugar mass onto a parchment paper and leave it to harden for about 30 minutes.
   
6. Break it into smaller pieces with your hands or crush it using a rolling pin.

Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

Author: Dini from Giramuk's Kitchen

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup of full cream milk
• 3 cups half and half or pouring cream
• 6 yolks
• 100 g sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla pod.

Instructions

1. In a bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mix becomes frothy.
2. Add the milk and whisk more to mix well.
3. Heat the milk and egg mix on low-medium heat while stirring/whisking every few minutes.
4. As the milk mix heats up, start whisking continuously to prevent the eggs from curdling.
5. Heat the milk mix until the custard thickens and is able to coat the back of a spoon. You should be able to swipe a clean path with your finger.
6. Stir in the rest of the half and half and leave it in the freezer to chill for at least a few hours or in the fridge overnight.
7. Churn according to your ice cream maker's instructions.
8. Mix in 1 recipe of Crushed Hokey Pokey (Recipe above) during the last few minutes of churning.
9. Transfer the mix into a container and return to the freezer to completely harden.

No Ice-Cream machine? No problem!

1. Transfer the custard into ice cube trays and let it freeze.
2. Transfer the "Custard Ice Cubes" into a Food Processor or an ice crushing blender and process until it resembles ice cream.
3. If the custard starts to melt too much transfer it into a container and refreeze for a few hours and process again.
4. Transfer the ice cream into a container and stir in the crushed Hokey Pokey and return to the freezer for a few hours to completely harden.

It’s so easy to make the Hokey Pokey and it doesn’t take too long at all, and I always make small batches so that I get to eat it while it’s still crunchy and don’t over-indulge. You can dunk pieces of Hokey Pokey in melted bittersweet chocolate as well and store them in an air tight container. These have a short shelf life as they tend to stick together. I store large pieces in an air tight container with parchment paper between each piece/layer.

This honeycomb (in ice cream) is not at all like regular caramel, the golden syrup and the crunchy bits totally enhance the flavour, colour and texture!

Everyone has their favourite Ice Cream flavour! Which is yours?

The Doctor Who Baking Event is coming up by the way and there will surely be some awesome mind blowing ideas! I will be combining my Halloween and Doctor Who together and you will definitely be seeing it soon!
You can follow me on facebook, twitter, instagram or google-plus or subscribe below for more updates and new recipes as they are posted!