Test local scope variable in anonymous asynchronous function

after scouring the internet for examples and tutorials and documentation on testing with jasmine and still not able to make things work, I turn to stackoverflow for help:

I have the following function in my Angular JS controller:

function setupMenuPopover() {
      $ionicPopover.fromTemplateUrl('views/menu-popover.html', {
          scope: $scope
        }).then(function (popover) {
          vm.menuPopover = popover;
        });
    }

How can I test that the menuPopover variable is defined? (Should I test this?)

Currently I have something like the following, using jasmine 2.4 (& Karma):

describe('testing the menuPopover', function () {
  var menuPop;
  beforeEach(function (done) {
    HomeController.menuPopover = HomeController.setupMenuPopover();
    setTimeout(function () {
      done();
    }, 3000);
  });

  it('this.menuPopover should be initialized and defined', function (done) {
    expect(HomeController.menuPopover).toBeDefined();
    done();
  });
});

But it's still undefined..

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!