Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

Written by
Syrie Wongkaew
Sydney-based food writer, editor, photographer, and food stylist with a focus on Australian and Thai cuisine.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Syrie Wongkaew
Updated 01/27/21
Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

The Spruce / Cara Cormack
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 15 mins
Servings: 2 servings
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
266 Calories
5g Fat
57g Carbs
1g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2
Amount per serving
Calories 266
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 6%
Saturated Fat 4g 21%
Cholesterol 1mg 0%
Sodium 679mg 30%
Total Carbohydrate 57g 21%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Protein 1g
Calcium 30mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Hokey Pokey is New Zealand's most popular ice cream flavor and rightly so. Just imagine your favorite vanilla ice cream dotted with crunchy bits of honeycomb candy.

Honeycomb candy is also known as hokey pokey, cinder toffee or sponge candy. It's made simply by heating together sugar and golden syrup and stirring in baking soda. This causes the mixture to froth up and aerate. After about 30 minutes, the mixture hardens to become honeycomb.

Sprinkle hokey pokey honeycomb on ice cream or on cakes for a delicious, crunchy treat. Traditional hokey pokey recipes call for golden syrup, also known as light treacle in the UK. If you can’t find it, light corn syrup will do.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup vanilla ice cream
  • 5 tablespoons white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons golden syrup
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Hokey Pokey Ice Cream ingredients

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  2. Line a baking tray with waxed parchment paper. Set aside

    Line a baking tray with waxed parchment paper

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  3. Heat the 5 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons golden syrup or light corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat.

    add sugar and golden syrup to a saucepan

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  4. Melt the mixture and stir occasionally. Bring to a boil for 5 or 6 minutes—make sure you stir continuously so the syrup doesn't burn.

    cook the mixture in a saucepan

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  5. Take the pot off the stove and stir in the baking soda (bicarbonate of soda). The mixture will froth up and become pale.

    add baking soda to the sugar mixture in the saucepan

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  6. Use a spatula to scrape and pour the mixture onto the waxed parchment paper. Allow the honeycomb to set for 30 minutes.

    pour the sugar mixture onto the waxed parchment paper

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  7. Once set, wrap the honeycomb loosely in parchment paper and use a rolling pin to break it into small pieces.

    break the honeycomb with a rolling pin

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  8. Scoop ice cream into two serving bowls and sprinkle with hokey pokey honeycomb. Serve immediately. 

    Hokey Pokey Ice Cream, Scoop ice cream into two serving bowls and sprinkle with hokey pokey honeycomb

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack