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    Home / Dessert / Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

    Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

    New Zealand hokey pokey ice cream recipe: crunchy golden honeycomb toffee folded through creamy vanilla ice cream. The kiwi dessert classic everyone loves.

    ⏱ 15 minPrep time
    🔥 30 minCook time
    🍽 4Servings
    🏷 DessertCategory
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    Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

    Hokey pokey ice cream — vanilla ice cream studded with nuggets of crunchy honeycomb toffee — was created in New Zealand in the 1940s and has been a national favourite ever since. The name comes from a music-hall song popular at the time, and the flavour is now as Kiwi as pavlova.

    The honeycomb is the star: molten sugar and golden syrup whipped with baking soda into a foamy toffee that sets shatteringly crisp. Folded through soft vanilla ice cream it gives every scoop a delightful crunch, and it’s just as good sprinkled over dessert bowls as it is eaten straight.

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    Step by stepInstructions

    1. Line a small tray with parchment paper. Heat the sugar and golden syrup in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture turns amber.
    2. Remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the baking soda — it will foam up. Pour onto the tray and set aside until hard, then break into chunks.
    3. Whisk the cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla together and churn in an ice cream maker until softly frozen.
    4. Fold most of the honeycomb chunks through the ice cream, then freeze until firm.
    5. Scoop and serve with the remaining honeycomb sprinkled over the top.

    💡 Chef tips & storage

    Work fast when the baking soda goes in, and don't taste the honeycomb straight away — it's molten hot. No ice cream maker? Fold the chunks through softened store-bought vanilla ice cream instead.

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    Recipe details

    Prep15 min
    Cook30 min
    Servings4
    CategoryDessert
    PublishedAugust 17, 2026
    Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes

    Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

    Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →

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