Hot Cross Bun Ice Cream Sandwiches

I have a big thing for ice cream sandwiches. They always remind me of the 5 years I spent growing up in Qatar; back then there wasn't a MacDonald's to be found in Doha but they eventually opened up a Dairy Queen. For me that meant kiddy meals with little pots of pink silly putty as the prize and yummy, sugar-coma inducing ice cream sandwiches. Ahh the memories. But as much as I love them there's a very good reason why I've never made them at home before. It's a long, slow process with many steps and lots of waiting. I just don't have the patience for that. (And of course disaster struck during the ice cream sandwiching process - I accidently left the freezer door open for a few hours which is why all my photos are full of ugly melty ice cream *sad face*) But I've been planning this one a while, nearly as long as my Easter Bunny Macarons. I really, really wanted to make some ice cream sandwiches that tasted just like hot cross buns.

I was psyching myself up to start making them yesterday when I decided to do a quick Google search to see if it had already been done (I usually do this for all my ideas). My heart sank a little when the search reminded me that Y had made these amazing hot cross bun cookie sandwiches a couple years back and I knew I could never reach that level of perfection. But I decided to press on with my attempt, since I had a lot of egg yolks to get rid of. My interpretation is slightly different to Y's, with the cookie adding to the flavours that made this ice cream sandwich very much like a hot cross bun in taste. I decided to use my Orange Buttermilk Choc Chip Cookies as they were lovely and light so they wouldn' be too hard after freezing. I made them slightly bigger than the original recipe and added some cinnamon, using a cookie cutter right after baking to give them nice, clean edges. The orange zest in the cookies seemed like a great substitute for the candied orange peel you find in some hot cross buns. (I've never been a fan of the candied orange peel in the buns) Also the chocolate chips reminded me of the choc chip hot cross buns that I happen to love.

Lisa, my trusted advisor for all things ice cream and doughnut related, suggested that I adapt her lovely Christmas pudding ice cream, replacing the fruit and nuts with sultanas and currants. It worked perfectly, such a beautifully creamy and smooth ice cream that really tasted just like a hot cross bun, especially thanks to the sultanas and currants. I would be quite happy to eat the ice cream on its own to be honest. And before anyone starts complaining about the amount of wastage you get from the leftover scraps after using the cookie cutters to get your pretty round sandwiches, just remember you can re-freeze the leftover ice cream and crush up the cookie bits and have yourself an awesome snack with the leftovers. It's a great alternative sweet treat for Easter if you feel like doing something besides the usual hot cross buns. Just dont be like me, remember to close the freezer door or your sandwiches will go FLOP :(

Hot Cross Bun Ice Cream Sandwiches
(makes 12 ice cream sandwiches, adapted from Lisa's recipe)
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp allspice
1 cup caster sugar
2 cups pouring cream (min. 35% milk fat pure cream)
3/4 cup sultanas
2/3 cup currants

For the cookies:
Ingredients for Orange Choc Chip Buttermilk Cookies
plus
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
100g melted white chocolate

Place the eggs, extra yolks, vanilla, spice and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Place over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk until thick and pale. Remove from the heat and beat for a further 5 minutes or until cool. Whisk the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold through the egg mixture until just combined. Refrigerate until cold, preferably overnight. Freeze in an ice cream maker, according to manufacturer's instructions. Fold through sultana and currants, pour into a baking paper lined casserole dish or large baking sheet with high sides and freeze until hard (at least 6 hours or overnight).

Prepare the cookie dough as per the recipe, adding the extra cinnamon to the dry ingredients when you whisk them together. Spoon slightly larger portions of dough for each cookie, about 2 tbsp and flatten it out slightly using a spatula, leaving at least an inch of space around each cookie. You should be able to make 24 cookies. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are puffed and golden at 180°C (350°F). Remove from the oven, while still hot and soft, place a sheet of baking paper over the top of cookies and use a flat surface (like another baking tray) to gently press the tops of the cookies flatter. (Optional step:) Use a round cookie cutter to cut the edges off of each cookie so they are nice and neat. (I used a 7.5cm cutter) Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

When ready to assemble, use the same sized cookie cutter (or one size smaller) to cut rounds of ice cream out of the tray it was frozen in and sandwich between cookies. You have to this in several rounds to stop the ice cream from melting. Refreeze ice cream sandwiches until hard. Place melted white chocolate in a piping bag with a round tip and pipe white crosses on the tops of each ice cream sandwich. Freeze until set and then serve.

P.S. Special thanks to Justine who was sweet enough to lend me some of her ceramics to use for my posts!