Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

This is what it's all about...

When I traveled through New Zealand it was an exceptionally warm spring, perfect weather for eating ice cream. My flavor of choice was always Hokey Pokey. I thought I would probably never have Hokey Pokey Ice Cream again unless I returned to New Zealand. I have been known to travel 10 miles for an ice cream cone,but 7,000 miles pretty much blows what I would save in the exchange rate (although I could use some new wooley layers as well).
So, when my co-worker offered up her ice-cream maker (ok, so I begged to borrow it) I wondered if it might be possible to duplicate the Hokey Pokey ice cream of New Zealand. It turned out that the candy is really easy to make, although I don't recommend eating it before you put it in the ice cream if you don't want to visit your dentist anytime soon. This stuff adheres to your teeth like super glue, but in the ice cream it melts a little bit and creates an extra buttery flavor. This is butter brickle times 10. So, with a little help from this guy I was able to replicate the Hokey Pokey Ice Cream exactly as I remembered...

First you do the Hokey Pokey (sorry, I couldn't resist):

Hokey Pokey
5 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons golden syrup (there is no subsititue for golden syrup which can be difficult to find in the U.S., you can find it on Amazon)
1 teaspoon baking soda

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a heavy sauce pan bring sugar and golden syrup to a slow boil over medium heat stirring continuously. Turn heat to low and let simmer for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep a close watch and be careful not to burn.
Remove from heat and quickly add baking soda.
Stir and pour immediately onto prepared baking sheet. Once cool, break into chunks and store in an airtight container until ready to add to ice cream.
To prepare for ice cream, place chunks in a ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin. Don't worry if some of the candy turns to powder, this will enhance the overall flavor of the ice cream.
Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
7 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Hokey Pokey (see above recipe, add all)

Heat the milk, salt, and sugar over low heat in a large saucepan.

Make an ice bath by placing a 2-quart bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Add heavy cream to the 2-quart bowl.

In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Slowly pour one cup of the warm milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Pour the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

Continuosly stir and scrape the bottom of the pan with a heat-resistant spatula, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the spatula.

Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir until cool, add vanilla extract, refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Churn it all around (oops, there I go again):
Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions, add the Hokey Pokey once the ice cream has started to set up, 10 minutes in the Kitchen Aid model.

Mmmmmm, that's what its all about!

Wanaka, New Zealand