A New Zealand favorite, hokey pokey ice cream is a rich vanilla ice cream studded with sweet, caramel-y honeycomb.
By Susan Knaap
New Zealanders are so in love with Hokey Pokey Ice Cream that it rates as one of our all-time favourite flavours, being second only to plain old vanilla. And, while we’re a small country of nearly 4.5 million, we manage to pack away a couple of million litres of the stuff every year! 
Compared to some of the modern-day ice creams which outdo each other in terms of fancy flavour combinations, Hokey Pokey Ice Cream is pretty darn modest. Basically, it’s french vanilla ice cream studded here and there with small nuggets of hokey pokey which, in the hot summer sun, melt into gooey caramel streaks.
Now that I have an ice cream maker, I thought it was high time I made some. I started off by making a batch of hokey pokey, or honeycomb, then folded it through some home-made vanilla ice cream. It was utterly delicious and every bit as good as the bought stuff, if I do say so myself.
Hokey Pokey is best served as is, in a cone. However, if you want to dress it up for dessert, you can serve it in dishes with some good quality caramel sauce or chocolate sauce drizzled over top.
Click here for the hokey pokey honey comb recipe.
PrintHokey Pokey Honeycomb Ice Cream
Description
A New Zealand favorite, hokey pokey ice cream is a rich vanilla ice cream studded with sweet, caramel-y honeycomb.
Ingredients
- About 100g (3.5 ounces) hokey pokey, broken into small chunks (see the link above for the recipe)
- 300ml (10 fluid ounces) double (heavy) cream
- 300ml (10 fluid ounces) whole milk
- 100g (3.5 ounces) caster sugar
- 3 large (or 4 regular sized) egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Put the milk and cream in a saucepan and heat until just below boiling point. Meanwhile whisk the sugar, yolks and vanilla in a big mixing bowl. While whisking, slowly pour in the hot milk mixture until everything is combined.
- Pour the mixture back into the pan, then cook over a low heat, stirring all the time until the custard has thickened to just coat the back of your wooden spoon (it should have the texture of a pourable Creme Anglaise). Cool, then put into the fridge for a couple of hours until well chilled.
- Churn the chilled custard in an ice cream machine according to the instructions. Once the ice cream has been churned, fold in the hokey pokey chunks (don’t be tempted to add the hokey pokey while the ice cream is churning – it will end up being fully incorporated into the ice cream and you’ll end up with no crunchy bits whatsoever). Scrape into a 1 litre freezer container (cover well with a couple of layers of foil) and put in the freezer for several hours, or overnight until solid.
- Serve in ice cream cones, or in dishes drizzed with some caramel or chocolate sauce.
Notes
HOKEY POKEY ICE CREAM (unchurned)
If you don’t have an ice cream machine, swap all the ingredients except the hokey pokey for: Half a 397g can condensed milk, 600ml double cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract. Place the ingredients in a big bowl then beat with an electric whisk until really thick. Fold through the hokey pokey, transfer to a freezer container and freeze until solid.
- Category: Dessert, Ice Cream
- Cuisine: New Zealand
Easy and yummmmy
Hi, as a kiwi living in the UK, I had been craving hokey pokey ice cream. I made this and was instantly transported back to my childhood and my family’s weekend treats. The base ice cream was rich and creamy and the hokey pokey studding the ice cream was crunchy and delicious!