I'm currently in the middle of my summer of sandwiches: I’ve been noshing on plenty of PB&Js, lots of overstuffed subs, and a healthy number of banh mi.
But there’s one area where I’ve fallen criminally short, and that’s ice cream sandwiches. Thanks to a tip from ice cream expert and cookbook author Pooja Bavishi, though, I’ve found a new way to cool off this summer and keep up my sandwich streak. And it all starts, naturally, with sandwich bread.
In her recent cookbook, Malai, Pooja includes a recipe for what she calls “Easiest Ice Cream Sandwiches.” The trick? She takes the sandwich part literally and uses soft white bread in lieu of cookies or bars. “It’s such a blank palette,” she says, adding, “It can be the vessel for a lot of different flavors.”
While somewhat surprising, ice cream and bread are a proven pair. In Sicily, you can find gelato tucked between buttery brioche, while ice cream served inside a soft bun is a popular street-food snack in Thailand. Pastry chef Brooks Headley has also advocated for the white bread ice cream sandwich, which he prefers to make with Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia.
To make her sandwich bread ice cream sandwiches, Pooja fries circles of flattened white bread in ghee then tosses the slices in sugar and cardamom before adding the ice cream. “Frying adds a little flavor, prevents the ice cream from leaking through the soft bread, and adds structure and texture,” explains Pooja. “But [the bread] still retains its softness in the middle, so when you bite in it has the properties of a soft cookie.”
Emphasis on the word soft. “There’s nothing more frustrating than a hard cookie straight out of the freezer,” Pooja laments. Because the bread is flattened and thinly rolled before frying and assembly, it retains its soft texture even straight from the freezer.
Pooja likes store-bought white bread for its pliability and simplicity, but you can experiment with other flavors and mix and match with different ice creams for a more customized experience. Here’s how.
Choose your bread. You want to use sandwich bread that is soft and pliable, whether homemade or store-bought. Milk bread is a nice option, and you can choose flavored options that complement your ice cream. Here are some suggestions:
Flatten the bread. Slice the bread, if needed, and cut the crusts off the slices. Using a rolling pin, flatten each slice until it’s as thin as possible.
Cut out shapes. Use a 2" or 3" round cookie cutter or an overturned water glass to cut out a circle from each bread slice.
Fry and season. In a small skillet, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of ghee or butter, then add several slices of bread and fry until the bottoms are golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and fry the other side until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the skillet and toss each slice in a mixture of 1 tablespoon sugar, a pinch of salt (or up to 1/2 teaspoon, which is what Pooja recommends for a sweet-salty experience), and 1/4 teaspoon spice of your choice (cardamom, cinnamon, etc.).
Assemble! Top a circle of bread with a scoop of softened ice cream, then place a second slice of bread on top and press lightly. Enjoy straight away or store in the freezer for later.
Cover photo by Patrick Marinello; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova.
