4 hours ago
14
Ice-cream sandwiches have really grown on me. I used to find them a bit tricky to eat; far too many of them had outer shells so hard they would crack a tooth, while the rest would turn to mush after a few minutes out of the freezer. Finding the balance between something thathas enough structural integrity to hold a good wedge of ice-cream but still soft enough to bite once frozen isn’t all that easy, but blondies make a very good option.
Rosemary and cherry blondie ice-cream sandwiches
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I love infusing blondies with fresh herbs to cut through some of the sweetness and add more depth. These would be great with tarragon or thyme, but today I’ve gone with rosemary for a piney, aromatic twist.
Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr
Chill/freeze 12 hr+
Makes 8
150g salted butter, plus extra for greasing
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
180g light brown sugar
1 large egg
1½ tbsp whole milk
130g plain flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 litre vanilla ice-cream
For the cherries
150g cherries
30g caster sugar
Squeeze of lemon juice
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and grease and line a 23cm x 33cm baking tin.
Put the butter and rosemary in a small pan and heat gently to melt. Continue cooking until the butter gets foamy and fragrant, and the milk solids turn brown. Pour everything into a bowl, remove and discard the rosemary, and cool to room temperature.
Put the sugar in a large bowl and stir in the melted butter. Whisk in the egg until smooth, followed by the milk. Sift in the flour, salt and bicarb, and stir until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin, spreading out evenly; it will be quite thin. Bake for 16-22 minutes, until the blondie looks set with crisp edges but is still a little soft in the middle. Let it cool completely in the tin, then chill in the fridge to firm up – at least six hours, but ideally overnight.
Stone and slice the cherries in half, then add to a pan with the sugar and lemon juice and bring to the boil. Cook for a few minutes until the cherries are softened and syrupy; set aside to cool completely.
Scoop the ice-cream into a large bowl, let it soften a little, then loosely fold in the cherries – try not to overmix. Cut the blondie in half widthways and scoop the ice-cream on to one half, taking it all the way to the edges. Carefully place the second blondie half on top, then wrap in clingfilm and freeze overnight, until firm.
Unwrap and trim the edges to get neat sides, then slice into bars. Serve straight away or wrap individually in baking paper and pop back in the freezer.
