Homemade honeycomb ice cream

This homemade honeycomb ice cream is a new favorite at my house! It’s a custard-based ice cream so you can be sure it’s going to be really creamy and decadent! Why didn’t I think of adding pieces of honeycomb into my ice cream before? It’s amazing!

this recipe

The sweetness of the honeycomb pairs incredibly well with the bitter almond and you get bites of crunchy honeycomb in every spoonful. But, the beauty of it is that parts of the honeycomb also slightly melt in contact with the ice cream so you also get a sweet syrup throughout this homemade honeycomb ice cream.

I prefer ice creams that offer some sort of contrast and this one is no exception. It’s sweet and (slightly) bitter, it’s creamy but also crunchy, you get my point. Almond and honey is a classic Turkish ice cream combination (bal bademli dondurma). I know that honeycomb definitely doesn’t actually taste like honey but that’s how I got the idea for this ice cream.

CUSTARD-BASED ICE CREAM

You only need a handful of ingredients and to follow simple rules to make custard-based ice cream. The main one is: be patient, don’t scramble your custard! The yolks in the custard need to be cooked slowly over low heat. Don’t rush, first slowly pour the hot liquid over the yolks and when the mixture is back in the pan, stir constantly! The bottom of your pan will get hotter and hotter so stirring will help keep the temperature of the custard even.

➝ What to do with the leftover egg whites? You can freeze the egg whites and use them later on to make meringues or to brush on filo pastry when you make samosas, egg rolls, or sigara böreği. I know that using 6 yolks (or potentially wasting 6 egg whites) can seem excessive to some, but I really enjoy French-style custard-based ice cream more. It makes this homemade honeycomb ice cream just so much richer and silkier, I can’t resist.

PICK YOUR FAVORITE EXTRACT

If the taste of bitter almond isn’t your thing you can use vanilla extract in your homemade honeycomb ice cream instead. Maybe it’ll work out better for children! Although I assure you that with the addition of honeycomb, the ice cream is more than sweet enough, even though bitter almond extract is poured into the custard. My bitter almond extract isn’t very strong, that’s why I use 3 tsp (and frankly I could put more if I wasn’t sharing the ice cream with my husband who has a sweet tooth). Check on the bottle for the advised quantity of extract to put in a 1 liter/quart (2 US pints) mix.

INSTRUCTIONS

All you need to make honeycomb ice cream is a little bit of time to make and chill the custard:

1. Bring the sugar, milk, and cream to just below a boil over medium heat.
2. Whisk the egg yolks for a couple of minutes in a mixing bowl.
3. Pour the hot milk into the mixing bowl while whisking.
4. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and stir constantly. Cook until the custard reaches 80°C (175°F).
5. Pour the custard through a mesh strainer into a clean mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto the surface of the custard. Chill for 8h or overnight. Churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
6. In a container layer up churned ice cream and pieces of honeycomb until you run out of ice cream and honeycomb. Freeze for at least 4h.

BUYING OR MAKING HONEYCOMB

Maybe you live in a country where you can actually buy honeycomb candy, if so, feel free to add shop-bought candy to your homemade honeycomb ice cream. If not, don’t worry, it’s very easy and quick to make your own honeycomb. I usually use this recipe, which I highly recommend. I halve the ingredients and swap the corn syrup (impossible to find in France) for golden syrup. This time I poured the honeycomb into a mold that was a bit wide so it spread too much. That’s why my honeycomb was more on the thin side.

Be careful not to spread the honeycomb to fit your mold, you would squash the bubbles. I like making the honeycomb just after I put the ice cream custard to chill in the fridge. This way it has enough time to harden before being whacked into pieces. If you are planning on letting the custard chill overnight and churning it in the morning, don’t worry your honeycomb will still be crunchy enough in the morning. Just be sure to store it in an airtight container.

VODKA

➝ Why is vodka added to the custard? Vodka works as a stabilizer. As vodka doesn’t freeze, it prevents the formation of ice crystals, making the ice cream smoother and silkier. Adding vodka to the custard before churning, will make for a creamier homemade honeycomb ice cream, without the addition of an alcoholic taste.

I wrote optional because I’ve been meaning to buy vodka for weeks (now that I’ve been making ice cream more regularly) but I keep forgetting. So I haven’t added any to the custard and the ice cream was still delicious. So if you don’t feel like buying vodka, just to 2 tbsp into an ice cream custard, no worries, you’ll still get delicious ice cream, just a tad less creamy. You’ll just have to let the ice cream sit at room temperature for a couple more minutes before scooping.

Looking for other ice cream recipes? Here are some of my favorites:

• White chocolate fudge ice cream
• Roasted raspberry ice cream
• Knickerbocker glory sundae

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