Classic vanilla ice cream with crunchy bits of deliciously addictive honeycomb toffee swirled throughout! Growing up in New Zealand, this was my favorite ice cream, and a sweet indulgence that I just couldn’t get enough of!
What is hokey pokey ice cream?
If you’re a Kiwi, 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 ice cream.
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 Honeycomb 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.
As a child, this was (and still is) one of my favorite 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 (another couple of my favorites were mint chocolate chip ice cream and cookie dough 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 honeycomb.
Another memory I have as a 3 year old was of my parents buying me a Violet Crumble chocolate (chocolate coated honeycomb candy) 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 learned 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).
Recipe notes
It’s so easy to make the hokey pokey (i.e. honeycomb) and it doesn’t take too long at all. I always make small batches so that I get to eat it while it’s still crunchy and don’t over-indulge! I’ve shared a fantastic recipe on how to make honeycomb candy, so you can check out that recipe post for all the nitty gritty.
You can dunk pieces of hokey pokey in melted bittersweet chocolate as well and store them in an airtight 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 flavor, color and texture!
More homemade ice cream flavors you’ll love
Recipe
Hokey Pokey Ice Cream
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results whenever available.
Common Measurement ConversionsIngredients:
Hokey pokey / honey comb candy
- 100 g white sugar ½ cup
- 80 g golden syrup you could use corn syrup or molasses instead ¼ cup
- ½ tbsp white vinegar
- 60 mL water ¼ cup
- 1 tsp baking soda
Ice cream base
- 360 mL full cream milk 1½ cups
- 360 mL heavy cream 1½ cups. 35% fat
- 4 yolks from large eggs
- 50 g white sugar ½ cup
- 80 g golden syrup replace with white sugar if you can't find this. About ¼ cup
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla pod.
- Chopped hokey pokey recipe above
Instructions:
Honeycomb toffee
- Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper or silpat. Keep the sheet pan on a heat resistant surface that will not crack in high heat.
- In a medium saucepan (the saucepan needs to be large as the sugar will expand) place the sugar, water, golden syrup and vinegar. Stir to ensure that all the sugar is saturated with the water and mixed with golden syrup.100 g white sugar, 80 g golden syrup you could use corn syrup or molasses instead, ½ tbsp white vinegar, 60 mL water
- Heat the sugar mix over medium or medium-high heat. Make sure not to stir the mixture during the cooking stage to prevent the sugar recrystallizing. To mix and evenly melt the sugar, swirl the pot freqently.
- When the sugar is almost all dissolved, brush the sides of the pot with a pastry brush dipped in cold water to dissolve the sugar crystals on the side of the pot. Do NOT stir the sugar syrup.
- When the sugar syrup comes to a boil and all the sugar has dissolved, clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot.Heat the sugar mixture until it reaches 300°F / 150°C. Swirl the pot as you heat the sugar to make sure the syrup is evenly heating (check several spots in the syrup with the candy thermometer to make sure it's evenly heating).
- You can use an oven mitt for whisking the sugar base in the following steps, if you like. When the sugar syrup reaches 300°F, remove the pot from the heat and immediately add all of the baking soda and whisk to mix. This will cause the sugar mixture to expand and become foamy.1 tsp baking soda
- As soon as the baking soda is thoroughly mixed in and the mixture has expanded, scrape the honeycomb mixture into the prepared pan.
- Allow the mixture to harden for a few hours. Once the candy is hardened, remove it from the pan and peel off the parchment paper. Place it on a cutting board.Use the tip of a sharp knife to break the honeycomb into small uneven pieces.
Ice cream base (Make the base the day before)
- In a bowl whisk the egg yolks, salt, sugar, golden syrup and vanilla until the mix becomes pale and thick.4 yolks, 50 g white sugar, 80 g golden syrup, ¼ tsp sea salt, 1 tbsp vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla pod.
- Add some of the milk to the egg mixture and whisk until you have mixed the egg yolk mixture well.360 mL full cream milk
- Add the rest of the milk to the egg mixture along with the heavy cream. Whisk to mix everything together.360 mL full cream milk, 360 mL heavy cream
- Heat over medium heat while whisking frequently. Heat the custard until the temperature registers between 165 – 170°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, then heat the custard until it steams while whisking. This takes about 10 – 12 minutes. Do NOT let it come to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool down. When the ice cream base is only a little warm, you can place it in the fridge or freezer to chill for a few hours or overnight (in the fridge).
Hokey pokey ice cream
- Churn the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions until the ice cream is thick and has a soft serve consistency.
- Mix in the chopped Hokey Pokey during the last few minutes of churning. Add as much as you like, as you may not need the whole amount.Chopped hokey pokey
- Transfer the mix into a chilled, freezer friendly container and return to the freezer to completely harden.
No Ice-Cream machine? No problem!
- Transfer the custard into ice cube trays and let it freeze.
- Transfer the "Custard Ice Cubes" into an ice crushing blender and process until it resembles ice cream.
- If the custard starts to melt too much transfer it into a container and refreeze for a few hours and process again.
- Transfer the ice cream into a container and alternate layers of ice cream and chopped Hokey Pokey and swirl to mix. Return to the freezer for a few hours to completely harden.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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