Hokey pokey, properly
Honeycomb
Honey ice cream with shards of homemade cinder toffee through it. The honeycomb takes ten minutes, erupts alarmingly when the bicarbonate goes in, and is worth making for that alone.
- Makes about 1 litre
- 40 min hands-on
- Chill 4 hrs
- Churn 20–30 min
- Ice cream maker needed
Ingredients
For the honeycomb
- 200 g1 cup caster sugar
- 5 tbsp golden syrup (or corn syrup)
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), sieved
For the ice cream
- 400 ml1⅔ cups double cream (heavy cream)
- 300 ml1¼ cups whole milk
- 150 g½ cup runny honey
- 4 large egg yolks
- A good pinch of fine salt
Method
Line the tin before you start the toffee. Once the bicarbonate goes in there is no time for anything else.
- Line a small deep tin with baking parchment. Heat the sugar and syrup in a deep pan over a medium heat without stirring, until it is a deep amber, about 150°C (300°F) if you have a thermometer.
- Off the heat, whisk in the bicarbonate of soda. It will foam up dramatically. Pour it straight into the tin and do not spread it: flattening it knocks the air out.
- Leave for an hour to set hard, then smash into pieces. Keep them airtight until needed.
- Warm the cream, milk, honey and salt until steaming.
- Whisk the yolks, temper in a ladleful of the hot dairy, and return everything to the pan.
- Cook to 77–82°C (170–180°F), stirring constantly. Strain and chill for at least 4 hours.
- Churn for 20–30 minutes, then fold through about 150 g of smashed honeycomb as you pack the tub. Freeze for 4 hours.
Worth knowing
- Honey freezes softer than sugar, so this is one of the easiest ice creams to scoop straight from the freezer.
- Honeycomb slowly dissolves in ice cream. It is at its best in the first two or three days, so keep some back in a jar and scatter it over each bowl.
- Use a deep pan. The mixture triples in size the moment the bicarbonate hits it.
- Choose a mild honey. Strong chestnut or manuka honey will bully everything else out of the way.
Make it yours
Five ways to change it
Chocolate-dipped honeycomb
Dip half the shards in dark chocolate and let them set before folding in.
Salted honeycomb
Add ½ tsp flaky salt to the ice cream and a pinch over the toffee while it sets.
Malted honeycomb
Whisk 2 tbsp malted milk powder into the warm dairy.
Burnt honey
Cook the honey in the pan until it darkens and smells slightly smoky before adding the dairy.
Honeycomb and coffee
Use the cold-steeped coffee base and fold the honeycomb through that instead.
If it goes wrong
Rescue remedies
The honeycomb went chewy rather than crisp
The sugar did not get hot enough, or the day was humid. Take it to a deep amber and store it airtight the moment it is cool.
It collapsed and set dense
Old bicarbonate of soda loses its fizz. Check the date, and sieve it so it disperses instantly.
The crunch disappeared after a day
That is honeycomb’s nature in a wet, cold place. Keep spare shards dry and add them at the table.
Can I skip making the toffee?
Shop-bought chocolate-covered honeycomb bars, chopped up, work well and hold their crunch longer.