Hokey pokey ice cream
No-churn vanilla ice cream folded with shards of homemade honeycomb toffee — New Zealand's second-favourite flavour.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Rest
- 8 hr
- Total
- 8 hr 35 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Hokey pokey is what New Zealanders call honeycomb toffee: sugar and golden syrup boiled to hard crack, then foamed up with baking soda into a brittle, bubbly slab. Hokey pokey ice cream is plain vanilla ice cream with chunks of that toffee through it, and the chunks half-dissolve into chewy caramel pockets as the ice cream sits. This is a no-churn version: whipped cream folded into sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, frozen in a loaf tin. It is sweeter and denser than a churned custard base, which suits a flavour built on toffee. Make the hokey pokey a day ahead so it is properly dry.
What you'll need
7 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Hokey pokey
- Ice cream
Ingredients
Hokey pokey
- Sugar100 g
- Golden syrup59 ml
- Baking soda, sifted, measured before you start7.4 ml
Ice cream
- Cream, cold, at least 35% fat600 ml
- Sweetened condensed milk, one tin395 g
- Vanilla, extract9.9 ml
- Salt1.2 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Put the sugar and golden syrup in a deep saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring and let it bubble to a deep amber, about 4 to 5 minutes.
6 min
Watch: Boiling sugar burns badly. Use a pan at least four times the volume of the syrup; it triples when the soda goes in.
Step 2
Take off the heat, dump in the baking soda and whisk fast for two seconds. It will foam up pale and huge. Pour immediately onto the tray and do not touch it. Leave to cool and harden for at least 1 hour.
2 min
Tip: Do not spread it. Spreading knocks the air out and you get toffee, not honeycomb.
Step 3
Whip the cold cream to soft peaks. In another bowl stir the condensed milk with vanilla and salt. Fold a third of the cream into the condensed milk to loosen it, then fold in the rest gently.
8 min
Step 4
Break the hokey pokey into pieces from pea-sized to thumbnail-sized. Fold about two thirds through the cream mixture. Scrape into a loaf tin and scatter the rest on top.
5 min
Step 5
Cover with baking paper pressed onto the surface and freeze at least 8 hours. Let it sit 5 minutes before scooping.
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 504 kcal
- Protein
- 5.6 g
- Carbs
- 51.5 g
- Fat
- 31.5 g
- Saturated fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
- Sugar
- 51.1 g
- Sodium
- 140 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Milk
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Golden syrup → Light corn syrup or honey
Honey makes a darker, more flavoured honeycomb. Corn syrup is closer in behaviour.
Tips
- Honeycomb absorbs moisture. Make it on a dry day and store it airtight if you are not using it straight away.
- Pieces on the inside go soft and chewy over a few days. Pieces on top stay crunchy. Both are correct.
- A pinch of salt in the base stops the whole thing tasting of condensed milk.
History & culture
Hokey pokey is consistently the second-best-selling ice cream flavour in New Zealand after vanilla, and it is sold at every dairy, beach kiosk and supermarket freezer. Summer in New Zealand smells like sunscreen and hokey pokey in a cone. The homemade honeycomb on its own is a school fair and Guy Fawkes treat.
Hokey pokey was a 19th-century British and American slang term for cheap street ice cream. In New Zealand the word attached to honeycomb toffee, and Tip Top began mixing toffee pieces into vanilla ice cream in the 1950s. Early versions used small toffee pellets; the chunky homemade style is the home cook's improvement.
Modern adaptation — Commercial hokey pokey ice cream is churned and uses small toffee balls. The no-churn condensed milk base is a home shortcut that happens to suit the flavour.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Hokey pokey ice cream take?
8 hr 35 min all in — 25 min prep, 10 min cook, 8 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 8 scoops. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Gluten-free.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Saucepan, Mixing bowl, Baking tray.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at ¼ tsp.
How much sugar?
100 g of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Golden syrup → Light corn syrup or honey. Honey makes a darker, more flavoured honeycomb. Corn syrup is closer in behaviour.
What should I watch for?
Boiling sugar burns badly. Use a pan at least four times the volume of the syrup; it triples when the soda goes in.
Any tips from this recipe?
Honeycomb absorbs moisture. Make it on a dry day and store it airtight if you are not using it straight away. Pieces on the inside go soft and chewy over a few days. Pieces on top stay crunchy. Both are correct. A pinch of salt in the base stops the whole thing tasting of condensed milk.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
