By now, most of us have encountered sweltering summer days and had our fans turned up to the max throughout the 25-degree nights. Summer is well and truly upon us, and what better way to cool down than with a scoop or two of the frozen goodness that is ice cream.
We tend to turn to this sweet treat when the warmer weather hits, but really, it’s a staple that’s enjoyed all year around- surely, I can’t be the only one to eat a Ben and Jerry’s tub in front of the fire on a winter’s eve?
Some fun facts about ice cream:
· It takes 12 pounds of milk to produce just 1 gallon of ice cream.
· According to the International Dairy Food Association, chocolate mint ice cream is the second most popular flavour of ice cream in the United States, after vanilla.
· The average number of licks to finish a scoop of ice cream is 50.
· The country that consumes the most ice cream is USA, followed by Australia then Norway.
It’s not all about scoops and cones though. The humble ice cream is more versatile than one may think. National Ice Cream Sandwich Day happened on 2nd August, and this fun and whimsical holiday highlights one of the creations that can be made with the tasty treat.
Many countries around the world have their own version of the ice cream sandwich. For example, in Iran, rose or pistachio ice cream is sandwiched between two thin wafers, however in Vietnam, street vendors will be found selling ice cream stuffed between two layers of bread as their take on the indulgent creation.
Fancy making your own sweet sandwich? Well never fear, we have a recipe here just for you!
To make 12 you’ll need…
Ingredients
- ice cream, any flavour of choice
- 24 cookies (shop bought or homemade)
If making homemade, follow the below recipe:
225g granulated sugar
250g butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
450g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
300g good-quality milk chocolate , roughly chopped into chunks
1. To make the cookies, tip the sugars and butter into a large bowl. Blend them together until the mixture looks smooth and creamy, and a little paler in colour.
2. Carefully break in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each egg and pausing to scrape down the sides with a spatula. Mix in the vanilla.
3. Sift in the flour and baking powder, then mix well with a wooden spoon.
4. Stir through the chocolate chunks. Use your hands to squeeze the dough together in 1 big lump, then split into 2 even pieces. Put each piece on a sheet of cling film.
5. Roll each piece of dough in the cling film so that they form thick sausage shapes, then seal the ends. Put them in the fridge and chill for at least 3 hrs or overnight – can be frozen at this point.
6. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Take the dough rolls out of the fridge, unwrap and use a small knife to slice each one into 12 pieces, so you have 24 in total.
7. Place the slices on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Ask a grown-up to put this in the oven to bake for 20 mins or until the cookies are golden brown on the edges, but still pale in the centre.
8. Allow to cool slightly before lifting them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Method for ice cream sandwich:
1. Simply take a biscuit, place a scoop of ice cream on top, and then sandwich it together with another biscuit on top. Make sure to place the biscuits together firmly so that the ice cream stays in place but not too hard so that the biscuits break.