20070630

the ice cream and brioche bonus.

brioche with ice cream

if you were to buy an ice cream sandwich from one of the many street vendors selling ice cream from pushcarts in the philippines, you would not get what most people would expect, ice cream in between two cookies. rather, you would literally get a scoop of ice cream in a bread bun, sometimes the ubiquitous pandesal, but more often the sweeter, milkier monay (moh-nigh); after all, it is a sandwich--why shouldn't it be on bread? i have always preferred this type of ice cream sandwich over the cookie variety; cookies can be too sweet, and most importantly, with our tropical weather, the fast-melting ice cream is soaked up easily by the bread, with a minimum of fuss or mess.

of course, the dirty ice cream variety is a cheap and cheerful street food that is mostly enjoyed by children, but it can easily be elevated into something more elegant with the choice of bread and quality of ice cream. oh, you know it's coming--yes, yes, i had some leftover brioche from my recent foray into brioche making, so you know i had to try it.

if the brioche is fresh, there really isn't any need to do anything but split it in half and scoop up your favourite ice cream for the filling. currently my favourite is häagen-dazs' summer berries and cream flavour, which is beyond smooth--like slipping between cool silk sheets, i tell you--and has a lovely balanced berry flavour, with a ribbon of tart raspberry sauce throughout. it is mercifully not too sweet (okay, it's a little sweet, but it's not cloying at all). this, combined with the rich brioche is like a decadent cream tea treat reinvented for the summer heat. lovely.


vanilla gelato sandwich


one of the great things about an ice cream sandwich is the portability factor--convenient to store, convenient to eat. a little toasting of some brioche rounds lightly buttered and lightly sprinkled with sugar created the perfect base for some vanilla bean gelato (also store bought), and a sprinkling of semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips. the brioche toasts were crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and the intermittent nuggets of dark, rich chocolate were a wonderful foil for the heavily perfumed sweetness of the chilly vanilla cream. elegant in some ways, but still delightful for children of any age.

20 comments:

Yum! I love the idea of toasting the buttered brioche and adding some sparkling sugar - it's beautiful too! Actually, there's something similar (not to your toasted variation, but the basic brioche ice cream sandwich - if that could ever be called "basic", but I digress...) in Sicily - granita and whipped cream on brioche... for breakfast! On the breakfast buffet in our hotel in Taormina, I remember they had the makings for these - coffee granita and almond granita were offered and maybe a third that I can't remember. Anyway - they were delicious!

Ooh, so tempting for the hot summer weather. What a great way to improve bread, heh, with ice cream. Love it!
BTW, the Waikiki Cheesecake factory is always packed. I ate the sliders in the Chicago Cheesecake factory. It was crowded by not like the one in Waikiki!

i love this idea of toasted bread, over using cookies! i was just thinking about how to do this with espresso, and then read through cathy's comment (i'm always thinking of the coffee). i'll have to try this on my next ice cream buy.

How interesting! Brioche with ice cream. It makes sense. A cookie crumbles, bread soaks. I'm keeping this in wind, when I have extra brioche.

hi cathy, i remember that almond granita. ever since you made some, i've been wanting to try it, but haven't gotten around to it. we should just do a trade!

hallo acornbud, it would be so ono with hawaiian sweet bread--maybe a little macadamia nut or kona coffee ice cream in the middle? heaven!

miss caramimi, oh you know i heart my ice and cream combos. on a toasted brioche bun you'd have a very decadent but tasty breakfast.

hi jerry, ah, to live in a world with extra brioche! this really is a good combo, definitely worth trying.

hi there! Your ice cream sandwich looks delightfully sinful! And are those chocolate chips I see hanging out of the sandwich? Lovely!

Hi Santos!

(sigh)...you just took me back to a wonderful place...the brioche with butter and sugar reminds me of my childhood! As a child, I anticipated lazy weekends with my mom and aunts starting their days off with fresh french bread topped with butter and sugar, toasted to perfection, creating a crunchy carmelized goodness (imagine the moment you ate your first creme brulee and it was so exciting to 'break' the sugar)--and oh so soft bread, served with coffee. I think this is where my affinity for all things crunchy and chewy probably came from...

Thank you so much for the beautiful pictures!! I can't wait to try this! Happy 4th!

xoxo Kimmie

S,

Brioche! Gosh, you're just too talented for words. I wouldn't even dare to try!

This looks so yummy. I've also had an ice cream sandwich made out of a grilled cinnamon doughnut before. With vanilla ice cream and a little bit of maple syrup over the top. Also yum :)

Mmmm...this brings back memories! I love dirty ice cream on that sweet, soft, white bread :) You have taken it to the next level!

Brioche with ice cream, how delicious! How cool would it be to take the "sandwich" even further...maybe add several layers of other sweet things (fruit, chocolate, etc.) all self-contained and make it rectangular.

Brioche with ice cream ... mmm.. interesting..!
Favour to ask from you .. Santos..? Is it possible to get a link from you ..?? No obligation though.. ;) many thanks in advance.

http://babybokchoi.blogsome.com/

uwksantos...i love italian gelato artisinal ones and granita.. my chef i worked wth today made a comment,..why every time you step out the boat you buy ice cream

haha said am working my way to all flavours init.. had melone today surely it woud go perfectly with your brioche.

ciao

I love this idea! I mean, traditional Pinoy ice cream sandwiches bought from the neighborhood sorbetero are fine. This, however, is gilding the lily - and such an innovative way of doing it, at that. I can't wait to try out the one with chocolate chips at home!

Hey Santos,

Just popping in to say hi....it's been awhile! Not that I don't love looking at this photo of the world's perfect sandwich, of course! Hope you're well.

I was wondering, too. Hope you are tasting lots of great food!

Hi,

You have great blog. Would you mind to have a link exchange with me.

Please email me if you are interested.

my email : kamarul[at]hoteltravel[dot]com

I'd like to exchange your link with our company website.

Thanks.

Note: You can delete this comment.

hi, i'm a closet reader. but this brioche looks way too good for me to remain closeted! that looks so delicious!! i want to make it... is it possible to get the recipe for the brioche from you? the brioche hamburgers look scrumptious, too!! i love your blog :)

love your blog! YUM YUM

hallo everyone! wow, where did all these comments come from? sheeesh. must've been sleeping :O