I don’t feel like I ate enough ice cream this summer. I can’t believe it’s already September; I swear summer just started. And in my mind, the summer was going to involve eating a whole lot more ice cream than I did. But I started a new job at the start of the summer and I didn’t take any summer holidays so overall I felt a bit less summery than usual. So summer felt busy, and I spent a lot of summer slightly worrying (about things like, should we buy an air filter for our increasingly regular wildfire season that brings an unpredictable number of days of smoky, sooty air each summer? And, how exactly do I do my new job? And how can we stop the raccoons that, while very charming to look at, have decided to use our tiny shed roof as a bathroom - FYI it’s surprisingly dangerous). The summer zoomed by without quite as much frolic and ice cream and lake swimming as would have been ideal. I mean, I certainly ate some ice cream, just not in the kind of summery, near-daily quantities that I had dreamed about.
So I bring you the end of summer ice cream sandwich that will help you pack a whole lot of summer into the next couple weeks. Because, technically summer in the northern hemisphere goes until Sept 22nd so we all have a little time to finish those summer bucket lists. I’m going to ride my bike, go kayaking, eat all of these ice cream sandwiches and jump in the ocean.
I made these ice cream sandwiches with a trusty brownie recipe, baked in a thin sheet in a jelly roll pan. It only needs a super quick bake. Then it gets sandwiched around espresso chocolate flake ice cream. The brownies are chewy and dense, but just slightly softened by mingling with the ice cream, enough to be biteable in sandwich form.
Of course, you could do a ton of variations with the brownie sandwich layers as a base; pistachio, mint or chocolate-hazelnut ice cream would be fantastic with the brownies as well. The espresso flavour makes these just a tad on the grown up side (however grown up an ice cream sandwich can be), but some cookie dough or chocolate-peanut butter ice would be excellent and slightly more kid-friendly. Make sure you freeze them really well or they will smoosh rather than slicing cleanly.
brownie espresso ice cream sandwiches:
6 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
¼ cup + 2 tbs butter
⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
⅓ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
About 2 ½ cups espresso/coffee ice cream, with chocolate flakes if you can find it
Line a quarter sheet pan (9” x 13” jelly roll pan) with parchment paper so that it comes up over the edges of the pan on all sides.
Melt butter and chocolate together in a double boiler over low heat (or in the microwave in 15 second bursts, stirring between heating). Add in sugars and vanilla. Stir in eggs.
Gently fold in flour with a spatula just until there are no flour streaks remaining. Spread batter into the prepared pan and smooth carefully with a spatula to make it evenly thick all over. Cook for about 10 minutes, watching carefully. Because the brownie is very thin, it can overcook quickly.
Optional: use a second pan to gently press down on the still warm brownies to even them out so you have a smooth, even surface.
Cool brownies in the pan until they are room temperature, or chill in the fridge. Measure the exact center of the brownies and cut into two sheets. Working over cling film, put one of the brownie halves down, and scoop ice cream all over the brownie. Smooth it evenly with a spatula. Gently press down the other side of the brownie and smooth the ice cream all around the edges. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until very stiff, at least 2-3 hours (I turned my freezer to the coldest setting for this).
Store in the freezer tightly wrapped in cling film.