Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwich (just like you remember)

The absolute worst part of being Coeliac or Gluten Intolerant is having glorious memories of your favourite foods. It’s often the simplest things that you’d end up missing too, especially on days when you can’t find anything to eat (that won’t make you sick). That’s why I decided to turn one of my absolute favourite desserts into something I could enjoy. Enter my newly minted, Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwich.

I have these memories, of sitting on the floor scoffing down fish and chips on a Friday night. I couldn’t of been more than 8 years old? God I don’t know, it was forever ago. Friday nights were junk food and movie nights with my family and their closest friends you see. We kids would get a feed of junk food, then an ice cream. Then we’d bundle up in bed and watch a movie, while the adults did the same in the lounge room.

It was fab. The best part of these nights though, was always the ice cream. Naturally my favourite flavour/type at the time would vary… but my god, some days I just couldn’t go past a good ole Peters Giant Sandwich.

Why has no one thought to make a Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwich and sell it?
Come on Peters!!

As most things do, they changed over time, and by the time I was a teenager, I swear the simple giant sandwich was half the size and tasted totally different. My dad swears the same, we were both avid lovers. Of course, you eventually move on to other delicious and amazing ice cream selections, but I would always love that classic giant sandwich and would occasionally eat one, purely for nostalgia.

The problem of course arose when I was diagnosed gluten intolerant. Hmm yup. I bet you know what happened next. I was never able to eat another one again! and I mean, even if they weren’t the same as before I still wanted the CHOICE! Years have gone by now and I hadn’t given much thought to the simple ice cream sandwich. I pretty much wrote off all ice creams on a stick. It’s not like I can walk into a servo and ask for a gluten free ice cream sandwich.

But then, something happened the other day. I can’t even tell you exactly what. All I knew, was that I HAD to try my hand at making one myself. “Surely they can’t be that hard!” I said……

…. well guess what. They are so easy to make, I mean, seriously simple. And what’s better is they work so well being made gluten free too! No crazy flour combinations or weird ingredients you have to source because you need to recreate some fluffy, light texture that gluten would normally do. Nope. None of that! Oh and did I mention, they taste better than the ones available in shops. They actually taste just like the old fashioned ones we used to eat as children, I kid you not!

You can even tailor them to your own flavour choice. A traditional vanilla ice cream lover? Then go ahead and use vanilla ice cream. Want to mix it up a little bit? Use neopolitan like I’ve done  here. But always be sure to check your ice cream label for gluten free, there really are so many choices out there now.

So stop day dreaming about that classic childhood ice cream and get in the kitchen and whip up my Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwich…. or better yet, make two… because, you know, they won’t last more than  5 minutes.

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Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwiches

The perfect Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwich. Reclaim those childhood memories with this family favourite!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time11 mins

Total Time4 hrs 26 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Australian

Servings: 16 sandwiches

Ingredients

• 230 grams Salted Butter softened
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup Gluten Free Plain Flour - White Wings will do the trick!
• 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
• 2 litres Plain Vanilla Ice Cream - be sure to check for a gluten free label

Instructions

• Pre-heat your oven to 180° Celsius and line two large rectangular 24 x 35cm brownie tins with a long sheet of baking paper each, be sure to leave the ends hanging over the edge to make removal easier.
• In a large bowl place the butter and sugar and beat together until pale and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to ensure they're well combined. Add in the Vanilla extract and beat again.
• Throw the flour in on top, along with the cocoa and stir to combine. Mix thoroughly until you have a soft, fudgey mixture. It's a bizarre thing, it's almost part cookie, part cake, part brownie in texture.
• Halve the mixture and tip each into your prepared tins. Take the time now to work it over the base of the tins, attempting to get an even layer. The back of a soup spoon will work fairly well.
• Pop straight into your oven for 11 minutes to cook. Keep a close eye on them though. What you're after is a soft to the touch thin cake, that has pulled slightly away from the sides of the tin.
• Once cooked leave in the tin for 5 minutes to cool, before lifting out (using those over hanging edges of paper) and leaving on a rack to cool fully.
• Pull your ice cream out of the freezer for a few minutes and allow it to soften to a workable condition, don't let it melt too much!
• Take a large piece of plastic wrap and lay it across your bench, it needs to be twice the size of one of your cakes. Now carefully place a cake slice into the middle of the plastic wrap, keeping the flattest side underneath.
• Start dolling out lumps of ice cream onto this and working quickly, create a fairly even layer across the entire thing. Go ahead and use the entire tub!
• Continue to work fast here, as your ice cream may start to melt rather quickly. Take the second piece of cake and invert it on top of the ice cream, push down gently to smoosh together and remove the baking paper.
• Wrap tightly in the plastic wrap and place straight into the freezer for a good 3+ hours. The longer they're in the freezer, the yummier they'll be.
• When you're ready to serve, remove from the freezer and unwrap. Again, try to work rather quickly here. Using a large serrated knife, like a bread knife, cut your block into sandwich size pieces.
• Enjoy immediately! Any leftovers can be re-wrapped individually and stored in the freezer for a month.

Notes

• Always be sure to check for a gluten free label on ice creams. Most ice cream brands contain wheat, annoyingly. However all of the standard Bulla 2 Litre tubs are Gluten Free.
• Don't distress if you don't think the cookie mixture looks like enough to cover your trays. I can assure you it is! Plus, what makes an ice cream sandwich great is the thin layers of soft but chewy biscuit that sandwich the creamy goodness.
• A tip to getting the perfect ice cream consistency for spreading  Please take your local weather conditions and what time of year it is into consideration before pulling it out. It needs to be in a workable state so that you can smooth it over the layer of cake, however this doesn't mean you need to melt it all the way. The perfect consistency is very sightly soft and scoopable ice cream.

Well how about that folks! A simple dessert that is sure to wow your guests or, well, yourself, when you just need something a little sweet and cold. And of course, there’s no telling it’s gluten free!!

Now, I’m just left wondering…. how many are left in my freezer

Have you given my Old Fashioned Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwich a try? Let me know in the comments below!