Brooks Headley's Ice Cream Sandwich

Recipe from Brooks Headley

Adapted by Jeff Gordinier

Published September 1, 2015

  • Mark Veltman for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(136)
Comments
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Wait a second. Brooks Headley, the pastry chef from Del Posto, is encouraging you to make an ice-cream sandwich with store-bought white bread and a tub of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia? Indeed. And he’ll even make the cheeky argument that this quick treat has Italian roots. “A typical Sicilian breakfast is gelato on a brioche roll,” he said. “Ice cream for breakfast! Who isn’t going to love that?” Truth be told, for a dessert at Del Posto Mr. Headley would most likely use a preserved-cherry and stracciatella gelato, but its flavor and texture are not so far off from what you get with Ben & Jerry’s. So butter the bread, crisp it up in a pan, let it cool, then coat it with ice cream and smush it all together. “I finish it with olive oil because, in the words of the great chef Paul Bertolli, olive oil is the best sauce,” Mr. Headley said. He called the result “admittedly trashy, but wildly satisfying.” How could it not be? —Jeff Gordinier

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 2 slices white bread (preferably Pepperidge Farm)

  • 1 cup gelato or ice cream (of your preference, but the author suggests Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia), softened but not melting

  • 1 teaspoon unsalted butter

  • Coarse sea salt

  • Extra-virgin olive oil

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

15 grams carbs; 17 milligrams cholesterol; 122 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 6 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 115 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 8 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Smear the bread with butter and sear in a cast-iron or nonstick pan until lightly caramelized and golden. Allow to cool a few minutes. Place the bread sear-side out on a work surface. Scoop the gelato onto one slice of bread and top with the other slice. Slice into 4 pieces and top with a drizzle with high quality extra-virgin olive oil and a light sprinkle of salt. Serve immediately, or hold in the freezer for up to one hour.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
136 user ratings
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Comments

Marah Newman

Easy and delicious. Should have used thicker white bread and caramelized the bread more. Also left the ice cream out a little too long. Sea salt and olive oil really make it pop, like a dessert grilled cheese.

Pat Bagg

Big question: do you caramelize both sides of the bread?

DRC PGH

Terrific dessert, easy to assemble even after a big dinner with lots of wine. I bought sliced challah instead of P. Farm bread, added a little extra richness maybe? Guests loved it, both times.

Amanda W.

I really wanted this to be my new favorite late night snack, but it just tasted like... cherry ice cream on toast. We tried with the olive oil and salt and it wasn't much better. Also tried with B&J pistachio ice cream and that was better than the CG flavor, especially with the salt, but I think I'd still rather have the pistachio ice cream with salt and a crumbled waffle cone or biscoff cookies or something. The toast just feels chewy and damp and unnecessary.

Western Winnie

A delightful breakfast for our last morning at a beach cottage…this recipe proved to my husband that it was a real, cultural breakfast. Kiddo needed no such convincing. Used Lopez Island Wild Blackberry, excellent butter, and the squishy white bread that was picked up from the little market. It wasn’t amazing enough to add to the regular rotation of treats but a very fun and memorable breakfast for vacation.

L

Super yum!!! I will follow this up with another simple B and J's mod - that was inspired by Mozza olive oil ice cream. Grab the B and J's pistachio ice cream, top it with a good olive oil and flakey sea salt. Heaven.

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Credits

Adapted from Brooks Headley

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