The candy exists as a standalone sweet — broken into irregular shards and eaten as is — but its most significant form in New Zealand is as an ice cream flavor. Hokey pokey ice cream is vanilla base studded with pieces of honeycomb toffee, and it is consistently New Zealand’s most popular ice cream flavor by sales volume. Tip Top, the dominant New Zealand ice cream brand, produces the version that most New Zealanders consider the standard — their hokey pokey has been in continuous production long enough that it is the flavor most associated with New Zealand childhood across multiple generations.

The name’s origin is not clearly documented. Several explanations have been proposed — a corruption of hocus pocus, a reference to the Hokey Cokey dance, a term brought by Italian ice cream vendors in the nineteenth century — but none is confirmed. The name is used in New Zealand and parts of Australia; elsewhere the same candy is called honeycomb, cinder toffee, or sponge candy depending on the country.

Hokey pokey is one of the most technically accessible confections — four ingredients, one pan, ten minutes — but the timing is precise. Pulled off the heat too early and the candy won’t set properly. Baking soda added too late and the bubbles collapse before the candy sets. The window is short and requires attention.

• British Influence

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Regional Roots

• New Zealand