This 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!
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 the honeycomb ice cream.
I prefer ice creams that offer some sort of contrasts 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 honeycomb ice cream.
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 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 in 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 in 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.
PICK YOUR FAVORITE EXTRACT
If the taste of bitter almond isn’t your thing you can use vanilla extract in your 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 in 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.
CUSTARD-BASED ICE CREAM
You only need a handful of ingredients and to follow simple rules to make a custard-based ice cream. The main one being, 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 honeycomb ice cream just so much richer and silkier, I can’t resist.
VODKA
➝ Why is vodka added to the honeycomb ice cream? 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 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 honeycomb 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.
Honeycomb ice cream
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 liter 1x
- Category: Ice cream
- Method: Churning
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This honeycomb ice cream will please both adults and kids! It’s rich and creamy, sweet but not too sweet, plus you get bites of crunchy candy in every spoonful.
Ingredients
- 100g sugar (½ cup)
- 200ml milk (¾cup + 1 tbsp)
- 400g cream (1 ⅔ cup)
- 6 egg yolks
- 3 tsp bitter almond extract (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
- pinch of salt
- 120g honeycomb candy* (⅔ cup), or as much as you want
- 2 tbsp vodka (optional)
Instructions
- Level the sugar in a medium heavy-based saucepan. Pour the milk and cream and place over medium heat. Bring to just below a boil, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.
- In a mixing bowl whisk the yolks for 2 min, until they lighten. Slowly pour the hot liquid into the mixing bowl while whisking constantly.
- Add your preferred extract and a pinch of salt. Briefly whisk.
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with the whisk, scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir. If it’s too hot, the custard will curdle.
- Cook and stir until the custard’s temperature reaches 80°C (176°F), about 8 to 10 minutes. The custard should coat the back of a spoon but it shouldn’t be as thick as pastry cream or a curd.
- Pour the custard through a mesh strainer into a large clean bowl and whisk until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the custard and let stand until it reaches room temperature.
- Chill the custard thoroughly in the fridge for 8 hours. Whisk the chilled custard until smooth, add the vodka (if you have it on hand) and scrape it into your ice cream maker. Churn according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Whack the honeycomb into bite-sized pieces with a sharp knife.
- Scrape one-third of the ice cream in a 1-liter container with a tight-fitting lid and spread it evenly. Sprinkle ⅓ of the honeycomb pieces over the ice cream.
- Repeat the layers until you run out of ice cream and honeycomb.
- Cover the container with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the honeycomb ice cream. Close the lid and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Notes
Make sure to let the container sit at room temperature for 5 min before scooping, and directly put the honeycomb ice cream back in the freezer after serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 scoops
- Calories: 576
- Fat: 30.7g
Keywords: summer desserts, candy ice cream
Looking for other ice cream recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
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