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homemade ice cream with honeycomb toffee pieces, scooped into a footed glass ice cream dish.

Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

Ice Cream From Scratch
Homemade Hokey Pokey Ice Cream is a frozen treat from down under! New Zealand's most popular ice cream flavor is vanilla with crunchy honeycomb caramel toffee.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chilling/Freezing Time 7 hours
Total Time 7 hours 45 minutes
Course Ice Cream Recipes
Cuisine Dessert
Servings 6 servings
Calories 553 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the ice cream base:

  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the honeycomb toffee:

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup golden syrup or light corn syrup or honey if you can’t find golden syrup
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda

Instructions
 

  • Chill the ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours or until solid. You should not hear any water sloshing around when you shake the bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until smooth and pale yellow in color.
  • Add the milk and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Be sure not to boil. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk constantly until combined. 
  • Then, add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk. Heat the saucepan on low. Stirring constantly, heat until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take a few minutes. 
  • Strain the mixture into a bowl to remove any pieces of egg that may have cooked. Then, add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap making sure to have the plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream base. This will help keep it from forming a skin while chilling. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
  • While the ice cream is churning, make the honeycomb toffee. Add the granulated sugar and golden syrup to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir for about 4-5 minutes until the mixture is completely melted and darker in color and has reached a temperature of 300F. Remove from the heat and pour in the baking soda. Stir vigorously and immediately pour onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let the honeycomb harden for 20 minutes before breaking into pieces.
  • Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions, until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
  • In the last two minutes of the churning process, add the honeycomb pieces to the ice cream.
  • Spoon the ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan. Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

  • If you can find honeycomb toffee or sponge candy at your local store, you can use that instead of making your own. Use 1 ½ - 2 cups of small honeycomb pieces.
  • If you cannot find golden syrup, you can use light corn syrup or honey in its place. Golden syrup is more available in the UK, and less so in the US.
  • Baking soda is what gives the toffee its crisp, holey texture. When you add it to the hot sugar mixture, it will foam up, so be prepared. Stir briefly but not too much, or you'll stir out all of the bubbles.
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