Hokey Pokey or honeycomb ice cream is a New Zeland classic. A trip to New Zeland isn’t complete without trying a scoop or two. Most Kiwi’s have nostalgic childhood memories of this flavour, my husband, who’s from the North Island, included.

Originally it is thought to be made with pieces of Crunchie, a honeycomb coated chocolate bar but the mass produced version many are familiar with has pieces of hard pellet sized toffee, swirled through vanilla ice cream with a caramel sauce.

After the delicious honeycomb ice cream I had when I reviewed Billy van Creamy last week, I decided to have a go at making Hokey Pokey ice cream myself.

This recipe combines a vanilla bean ice cream base with a decadent honey caramel sauce and crunchy fresh honeycomb. The three elements come together to make a rich, creamy ice cream that my husband and kiwi friends of mine assure me is as good as, if not better than the original. Try it for yourself and let me know what your think!

This recipe takes time but like all good things it comes to those that wait.

First make the vanilla bean custard ice cream base. Ideally this needs to chill overnight in the fridge to help the base bind together and make a smoother, more scoopable ice cream. Then make the honey caramel and finally the fresh honeycomb which has the shortest shelf life.

Vanilla bean ice cream

Put the water onto boil for your double boiler if using.

Add milk and cream to a small saucepan. Using a sharp knife carefully split and scrap the seeds out of the vanilla bean and add both the seeds and rest of the bean to the milk and cream mixture. Mix carefully to seperate the seeds and distribute through the mix. Simmer on a low heat for five to ten minutes.

Seperate egg yokes and add sugar in a medium heat proof bowl. Blend together using a hand mixer or mixing bowl until eggs and sugar go pale and foamy.

Carefully pour the milk/cream/vanilla bean mix to the egg and sugar mix a bit at a time, stiring well between each addition.

Hot tip: place heat proof non slip surface under the bowl to help it stop moving, such as a damp tea towel.

Once combined pour all the mix into the top of a double boiler. Cook over a low heat, string frequently and watching carefully. If you cook the mix at to high heat or for too long you will scramble the eggs. Cook the custard until mixture is thick and coats the back of a spoon or spatular.

Hot tip: if you don’t have a double boiler you can use a regular saucepan, but you will need to watch the mix very carefully to avoid over heating and scrambling the eggs.

Once the mix is thick enough remove the top the double boiler and put it on a stable surface, such a colander to cool off for a few mins. Pour mix into a container, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Honey caramel sauce

This sauce is very easy to make and tastes amazing in this ice cream or anywhere else where you want a rich, sticky caramel sauce. I dare you to try and resist eating it straight from the jar with a spoon!

Add honey and brown sugar to a small saucepan. Where ever possible I try to get local honey. It supports local producers (and bees!), means I know where its come from and it tastes much better and more complex than supermarket brought honey. This particular batch came from Holley’s Backyard Bees when I did a beginner bee keeping course recently. The brown sugar gives this a lovely deep tasting caramel but you could use raw or caster if you prefer a lighter caramel.

Mix the honey and brown sugar on a low heat until the sugar dissolves and mix has gone a lovely rich amber colour. Add the butter and stir until combined. Add the cream and stir stir stir. Stir over a low heat until sauce it thickened to your liking. I like my sauce nice and thick, so this took about 15 mins over a very low heat with constant string to reduce the sauce.

Hot tip: to test how thick your sauce is add a teaspoon to a small freezer proof bowl or saucer and pop into the freezer for a min. The sauce will cool rapidly and you’ll be able to see how tick the sauce will be once cooled.

One the sauce is thick enough pour into a clean container with a lid. The sauce will keep in the fridge for up-to a week, but I doubt it will last that long!

Honeycomb

Honeycomb is impressive but surprisingly easy to make. Its important to have your ingredients and equipment set up first because once you add the bicarbonate of soda you need to move Fast.

Line a baking tray or pan with baking paper. Measure out your bicarbonate of soda and give in a stir to remove any lumps. Put both close by the stove where you are making the honeycomb, with the tray on a heatproof surface.

Add your sugar and golden syrup to a LARGE pan and stir over a low heat until sugar dissolves, about 5 – 10 mins. Turn heat up-to medium heat and cook, stiring regularly until a beautiful deep golden colour. In theory you can use a candy thermometer and get it up-to 151C. In practice when I tried to do this I burnt the sugar, so I think going by eye and colour is fine.

When the sugar mix reaches the right temp, take it off the heat and quickly add and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. The mix will puff up quickly. Try to make sure the bicarb is mixed through quickly, then immediately pour into the pre-lined baking tray.

Hot tip: Add any scrapings from the pot to the side, not in the middle or you will deflate your honeycomb. Leave until completety cool, about an hour or more.

Once cool careful peel off the the baking paper. Flip over and use the back of a heavy knife to tap the honeycomb until it cracks through. Store in a lined airtight container until needed. The honeycomb with slowly go sticky as it reacts with the moisture in the air over a few days, but it will still taste great.

To assemble

If using a self refrigerating ice cream churner turn on machine ten minutes before churning, other wise take the freezer bowl out of the freezer just before churning.

Give the vanilla bean ice cream base a good stir, remove vanilla bean pod and pour into churner. Churn until done, about 25mins. In a pre-chilled container, layer ice cream with caramel sauce and repeat until done.

Freeze overnight until firm.

Hot tip: you can add pieces of honeycomb to the layers at this time. During recipe testing all the smaller lumps of honeycomb dissolved into the ice cream after only twelve hours. Only the larger pieces, about the size of a large marble survived. To preserve crunch and texture I reccomend adding honeycomb when serving.

To serve scoop out some ice cream, spoon over extra gooey honey caramel and sprinkle with pieces of crunchy honeycomb on top. Sit back and enjoy your delicious creation!

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5 from 1 vote