Honeycomb Ice Cream

To make the honeycomb: Line a Le Creuset Rectangular Dish with two strips of baking parchment. Melt sugar together with the syrup and water in a pan over a low heat until dissolved. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 4-5 minutes until the syrup begins to turn a golden brown. Take care not to let the syrup go too dark, or the honeycomb will be bitter. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda taking care as the mixture will be very hot and will foam up very quickly. Pour into the lined dish to set. (The mixture will continue to foam in the dish for a short while then reside a little before setting.) After about 45 minutes, when the mixture is set, remove the block from the dish and place into a large airtight container. Don't worry if it breaks in the process. Wash and dry the dish.

To make the custard:

Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan over a medium heat until boiling. Mix the cornflour, sugar and egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl and add a few spoonfuls of hot milk from the pan to the mix. Whisk in the rest of the hot milk. Return to the saucepan and stir over a low heat until thickened. Pour the custard back into the bowl and cover the surface with cling film to prevent skinning. Cool before chilling for 1 hour.

To make the ice cream:

Whisk the cream in a large bowl until stiff. Stir in the chilled vanilla custard. Cover the bowl with cling film and place in the freezer for 1 ½ -2 hours. Stir the custard mixture with a fork or spatula to break up the ice crystals. Break up the honeycomb into small irregular sized pieces and stir 2/3 into the chilled cream mixture. Turn into the dish and smooth over the top. Cover with cling film and place into the deep freeze for 3-4 hours to set. Serve scooped out into Le Creuset Ramekins with some of the remaining honeycomb sprinkled on the top.

Remove the ice cream from the freezer a short while before required to allow it to scoop easily. If the ice cream has been in the freezer for more than 24 hours it may require at least 10 minutes of standing time.