There is just something so exciting about an ice cream flavour that could also be a breakfast, or lunch or some such. Bread and butter go together yes, but I was a little pessimistic about this applying to ice cream. I heard though from a trustworthy friend of mine that this ice cream was the business, so despite my fear of a soggy bread ice cream nightmare, I went in, full faith. The bread crumbs are coated in sugary butter and put in the oven till crispy and caramelly. It almost turns into a kind of hardened honey comb. The results were absolutely bang-on delicious. I think it could have been sweeter, but other than that it was perfect. This ice cream goes particularly well with fruity accompaniments; I think raspberries complement it well but it would be amazing with strawberries too.
One important note for the recipe is that you don’t want to burn the butter as this would mean ruining the lovely nutty flavour and give you instead an overpowering bitter taste.
Brown bread and butter ice cream
100g brown bread, torn into chunks
120g brown sugar
60g butter (I used lightly salted)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
125ml whole milk
375ml single cream
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Crumb the bread in a food processor and grease a large baking tray with a little butter.
2. Scatter crumbs over the tray and mix the sugar through. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crumbs appear crisp and golden but do not burn them! Turn the crumbs halfway during the baking process to ensure an even colour.
3. Leave the crumbs to cool and break up the clumps.
4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat until it turns a little golden in colour and smells nutty. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
5. Whisk the eggs with the vanilla. Put 125ml of milk and 1/2 cup of cream in a pan over medium-low heat until it is just about up to the boil. Gradually pour in the egg and vanilla mix, whisking continuously. Pour the mix back into the pan, lower the heat and whisk for a few minutes. The mixture should thicken a bit (to test, run your finger along the back of a wooden spoon and if the liquid runs together this means it isn’t done yet. You want to run your finger along the back of the spoon and see the line you have made).
6. Remove from the heat when ready and add the rest of the cream along with the melted butter and sugary bread crumbs. Cool for a good few hours and churn in an ice cream maker.
Makes 1 litre.
(Recipe adapted from Apples for Jam: Recipes for Life by Tessa Kiros, Murdoch Books)
