Hokey Pokey Ice Cream: Flavor, History & Where to Buy

There’s a certain magic in biting into a scoop of vanilla ice cream and finding crisp, airy pockets of honeycomb toffee. That’s hokey pokey ice cream, a New Zealand classic that Tip Top helped popularize in the 1950s, according to the company’s history (Pure NZ Ice Cream).

Origin: New Zealand ·
Main ingredients: Vanilla ice cream + honeycomb toffee ·
Also known as: Honeycomb ice cream ·
First recorded: 1920s ·
Popular brand: Tip Top (NZ)

Five key facts, one pattern: hokey pokey ice cream is defined by a simple contrast – creamy vanilla base punctuated by crunchy, honeycomb toffee.

Here’s the factual breakdown.

The implication: nearly a century of history, yet the core product has barely changed.

What’s the flavour of hokey pokey ice cream?

What is hokey pokey?

Hokey pokey ice cream is a vanilla ice cream base studded with small, crunchy lumps of honeycomb toffee. The toffee itself is aerated – made by heating sugar, glucose (or golden syrup) and baking soda, which creates a porous, brittle texture that stays crisp when frozen. According to Wikipedia, the flavor is “a flavour of ice cream in New Zealand and Australia consisting of plain vanilla ice cream with small, solid lumps of honeycomb toffee.”

Honeycomb toffee explained

The honeycomb toffee (also called cinder toffee or sponge toffee) is made from sugar, golden syrup and bicarbonate of soda. The New World recipe uses caster sugar, golden syrup and baking soda, set in a lined tin before breaking into pieces. The chemical reaction from the baking soda creates thousands of tiny air bubbles, giving the toffee its characteristic honeycomb structure. When folded into vanilla ice cream, these pieces remain crunchy because the sugar content prevents them from absorbing too much moisture.

The catch: homemade versions can turn chewy if the toffee isn’t stored properly or if the ice cream base is too watery. Commercial brands like Tip Top use stabilizers to maintain the crunch for months.

The pattern: the crunch is the whole point, and moisture is the enemy.

What do Brits call the Hokey Pokey?

Hokey pokey vs honeycomb

In the United Kingdom, the same ice cream is almost always called honeycomb ice cream. The term “hokey pokey” is rarely used in British supermarkets or ice cream parlors. According to Wikipedia, the name “hokey pokey” is primarily associated with New Zealand and Australia. The name “honeycomb” is descriptive and avoids the confusion with the children’s dance song “The Hokey Cokey” (known as “Hokey Pokey” in the US).

Regional names for the ice cream

• New Zealand / Australia: Hokey pokey ice cream
• United Kingdom: Honeycomb ice cream (sometimes “honeycomb toffee ice cream”)
• United States: Honeycomb ice cream or occasionally “hokey pokey” in specialty shops (Wikipedia)
• South Africa: Also known as honeycomb ice cream, similar to the UK naming

What this means: if you’re a Brit traveling in New Zealand and order a “honeycomb ice cream,” you’ll get exactly what you expect – but the local name will be hokey pokey.

The implication: the name is a regional identifier, not a description of the product.

Is hokey pokey ice cream only in New Zealand?

Where hokey pokey is popular

Hokey pokey is most popular in New Zealand and Australia, where it ranks among the top-selling ice cream flavors. According to Pure NZ Ice Cream, Tip Top’s hokey pokey is a staple in Kiwi freezers. In Australia, brands like Peters also produce a honeycomb toffee variant. Outside these markets, it’s far less common than vanilla or chocolate.

Availability in Australia

Australia’s major supermarkets carry hokey pokey ice cream under local brands. The flavor is similar to the New Zealand version, though some Australian recipes use a slightly different honeycomb toffee (often called “honeycomb” in the ingredient list).

Hokey pokey in other countries

In the US and UK, you can find it in specialty ice cream shops that feature New Zealand or Australian products. Online retailers like Wikipedia-listed specialty food importers sometimes stock Tip Top or other brands. But it’s not a standard flavor in major chains – with one notable exception (see next section).

The pattern: hokey pokey remains a regional specialty, not a global hit. Its limited distribution is partly due to the toffee’s sensitivity to moisture and temperature changes during shipping.

The implication: if you want it outside Oceania, you’ll have to search.

Can you buy hokey pokey ice cream in the US?

US brands that sell hokey pokey

Yes, though availability is limited. Baskin-Robbins has featured a “Hokey Pokey” flavor in the past – a vanilla ice cream with honeycomb toffee pieces – but it’s not a permanent menu item. According to Wikipedia, the flavor has appeared in select promotions. Some regional US ice cream makers also produce honeycomb toffee ice cream, sometimes labeled “honeycomb” or “hokey pokey.”

Online retailers

US consumers can order Tip Top hokey pokey ice cream through online importers such as Pure NZ Ice Cream (which ships to some US addresses). Amazon and other marketplaces also carry honeycomb toffee products that can be used to make your own ice cream at home.

Homemade alternatives

Many US food bloggers offer recipes for homemade hokey pokey ice cream. The Sixto Carreon recipe calls for a custard base of milk, cream, egg yolks, vanilla and sugar, then folds in homemade honeycomb pieces after churning. The New World recipe makes the toffee in a pan and suggests dark chocolate coating for a twist.

Why this matters: for US buyers, the easiest path is to make it yourself. The toffee takes 10 minutes, and the ice cream base is a standard custard. You get the real Kiwi experience without the import hassle.

The pattern: importing is possible but expensive; DIY is the reliable route.

What is hokey pokey called in America?

Hokey pokey vs honeycomb in the US

In American grocery stores and ice cream shops, the flavor is most often called honeycomb ice cream. The term “hokey pokey” is recognized but associated with the children’s dance, not the dessert. According to Wikipedia, the name “hokey pokey” for the ice cream is “primarily used in New Zealand and Australia.”

Marketing names

Some US brands use descriptive names like “Honeycomb Toffee Crunch” or “Cinder Toffee Ice Cream.” The ingredient itself is often called “honeycomb toffee” on labels. The name “hokey pokey” appears mainly in specialty shops that want to emphasize the New Zealand heritage.

The implication: if you’re American and want to buy it, search for “honeycomb ice cream” or “honeycomb toffee ice cream.” You’ll find more results than searching for “hokey pokey.”

The catch: the name you use determines whether you find the product or get the dance song.

How to make hokey pokey ice cream

Making hokey pokey ice cream at home is straightforward. The process has two parts: crafting the honeycomb toffee and preparing a vanilla ice cream base. Here’s a step-by-step guide based on trusted recipes.

1. Make the honeycomb toffee: Combine 1 cup caster sugar, 4 tablespoons golden syrup, and 2 tablespoons water in a saucepan. Heat without stirring until the mixture reaches 300°F (hard crack stage). Remove from heat and quickly whisk in 2 teaspoons baking soda. The mixture will foam vigorously. Pour into a lined baking tin and let set. Once cool, break into small pieces. (New World)
2. Prepare the vanilla ice cream base: In a bowl, whisk 2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup whole milk, 3/4 cup sugar, 4 egg yolks, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Heat gently in a saucepan, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Cool completely. (Sixto Carreon)
3. Churn the ice cream: Pour the cooled custard into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Just before the ice cream reaches soft-serve consistency, fold in the honeycomb pieces.
4. Freeze: Transfer the mixture to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours until firm.

The catch: homemade honeycomb toffee can absorb moisture from the ice cream and become chewy within a day or two. For the best crunch, add the toffee pieces just before serving, or freeze the toffee separately and mix in at the last minute.

The implication: you control the crunch, but only if you manage the moisture.

What we know and what remains uncertain

Confirmed facts

• Hokey pokey ice cream is a New Zealand flavor consisting of vanilla ice cream with honeycomb toffee lumps (Wikipedia).
• It is also known as honeycomb ice cream in many regions outside Oceania (Wikipedia).

What’s unclear

• The exact origin of the name “hokey pokey” for the ice cream is uncertain. One theory links it to hokey-pokey as a term for cheap ice cream sold by street vendors in 19th-century England, but no direct evidence connects it to the New Zealand flavor (Wikipedia).
• Who first added honeycomb toffee to vanilla ice cream is disputed. Brian Simon of Newjoy Ice Cream Co. in Dunedin claimed to have invented it in 1953 using broken Crunchie Bars (Giapo). However, Tip Top’s own history suggests they began experimenting with toffee pieces in the 1950s independently (Pure NZ Ice Cream).
• A secondary blog account claims hokey pokey confectionery was sold as early as 1892 by Tyrell stores in New Zealand, but the source is a personal blog with low authority (longwhitekid).

The pattern: the history has gaps, but the product is well-documented.

“Hokey pokey is a flavour of ice cream in New Zealand and Australia consisting of plain vanilla ice cream with small, solid lumps of honeycomb toffee.”

— Wikipedia (encyclopedic reference)

“Brian Simon believes he invented hokey pokey ice cream in 1953 while working at his father’s Newjoy Ice Cream Co. in Dunedin, using broken Crunchie Bar pieces from the local Cadbury factory.”

— Giapo (New Zealand artisan gelato maker)

For New Zealand foodies, the choice is clear: embrace the classic Tip Top version or make your own. For international buyers, the naming puzzle means you’ll need to search for “honeycomb ice cream” – but once you find it, you’ll understand why Kiwis have loved it for generations. The implication: the real challenge is not finding the flavor, but knowing what to call it.

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