The best thing that can happen to me is that someone shows up with ice cream. No, no, wait. Let me correct myself. The best thing that can happen to me is that someone shows up with ice cream I can eat WITH MY HANDS. This chocolate ice cream sandwich is delicious, it’s completely worth the time. You have many options for variations as well.
Chocolate Ice Cream Sanwich
To make this chocolate ice cream sandwich, you first cook two cookies in square 20cm/8in pans. Alternatively, you can use just one pan and bake one after the other. Then, you’re going to fill those cookies with Ice Cream. In this case, I made a homemade vanilla ice cream with chopped chocolate (no ice cream machine needed). However, you can also use half a pint of store-bought ice cream or make half a recipe of any of my ice cream recipes. As a matter of fact, here are a few ice cream recipes that would work well inside those two layers of chocolate cookies, remember you only need to make half a recipe:
Chocolate cover
There are two optional bits in this recipe. The first one is to add chocolate bits to the ice cream. The second is to cover half of the sandwich with magic hard shell chocolate sauce. The hard chocolate sauce is really delicious and adds a nice crispy element to the recipe. It’s not necessary to cover it in the sauce but the result is pretty nice. If you are using it though, you have to dip it in and then freeze it for an extra couple of hours so that the ice cream doesn’t melt.
If you like ice cream sandwiches but are more of a fruit flavour, check out my blackberry ice cream sandwich recipe. It has vanilla cookies as a base and the filling is an absolutely delicious blackberry ice cream. You can switch it also for another berry you like. I love to play with ice cream and cookies recipes to get different flavours. It’s really easy to get creative once you get how the no-churn ice cream base works. Just remember that every time that you use fruit, it’s standard to cook the fruit first to prevent the ice cream from cristalizing.
Ingredients
For the cookie layers
- 130 g unsalted butter at room temperature ½ cup
- 100 g sugar ½ cup
- 50 g unsweetened cocoa powder ½ cup
- 1 egg yolk
- 150 g all-purpose flour 1 cup
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
Filling
- 200 g condensed milk ¾ cup
- 300 g whipping cream (30-35% fat) 1¼ cup
- 30 g finely chopped dark chocolate ¼ cup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
To cover
Instructions
For the cookie
- In a bowl, beat together the butter with the sugar and cocoa powder using a whisk until you have a smooth paste.
- Add the egg yolk and beat again.
- Add the flour, salt and baking powder and use a spatula to incorporate completely.
- Line two 20cm/8in square pan (or you can also bake in 2 batches) with two strips of paper crossing from side to side to form a cross.
- Divide the dough in two and spread it on the base of each pan pressing with your fingers.
- With a fork, poke the dough evenly along all its surface to prevent it from rising.
- Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F for 12-15 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool down completely before continuing.
For the ice cream
- Whip the cream until it's soft and foamy.
- Add ⅓ of the whipped cream to the condensed milk and incorporate using folding motions.
- Add the rest of the whipped cream using folding motions. Add the vanilla and fold it in as well.
- Optionally, add the chocolate and fold it in.
- Use the paper to remove the cooled cookies from the pans. Leave the paper in one of the pans but flip the cookie inside so that the poked side is facing downward.
- On top of this first layer, add the filling. On top of that, place the other cookie with the poked side facing upwards.
- Freeze the pan for 8 hours or overnight,
- Unmould the sandwich and cut in the side you prefer, I cut it in 8.
- Optionally, submerge half the sandwich in magic hard shell chocolate sauce. Freeze again for 2 hours before eating.
