Vegan Ice Cream Sandwich (Classic)

Baby it’s hot outside! So hot – a perfect level of heat for a refreshing vegan ice cream sandwich, don’t you think? These classic-inspired, dairy-free ice cream sandwiches are the latest treat we love as the UK goes through a major heat wave. I’ve filled my freezer with them and we’ve been enjoying them in the middle of a hot afternoon when the mood for something sweet and cold hits us.

These vegan ice cream sandwiches are surprisingly easy to make and absolutely delightful – creamy (no-churn!) vanilla ice cream hugged by two fudgy vegan brownie pieces…heaven, I tell you! So much so that Duncan pronounced them one of the best things I’ve ever made, which is high praise indeed as I’ve now published close to 800 recipes!! – I think it’s based on a suburban classic and he gets all nostalgic.

To make the base, I simply baked two trays of my vegan brownies. I made a single batch and split it between two tins and adjusted the baking time accordingly. My original recipe uses aquafaba, which I’ve used in brownies for years instead of eggs, but I’m aware that some people are reluctant to eat chickpea brine and I wanted to offer and alternative. I decided to see what would happen if I whipped up activated flax in the same manner as aquafaba, and after a little tweak in terms of quantity, I’m happy to report that it worked really well.

For the ice cream layer, I blended softened cashews and coconut cream with some sweetener, vanilla and salt until smooth. I poured the mixture into a silicone mold, sealed it with a piece of baking paper to prevent ice crystals from forming, and refrigerated it for a few hours. Once firm, I sandwich it between two slabs of fudgy brownie and crumble.

Instead of making your own ice cream, you can simply buy your favorite vegan ice cream, let it melt a bit and spread it between two sheets of vegan brownies, and then refrigerate it before the ice cream hardens. to cut

More about ingredients

Cashews: Raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for at least 20 minutes, are one of the main ingredients in ice cream. They’re fattier than other nuts and neutral in flavor, which means they can’t really be replaced with anything other than macadamias (apparently, but I haven’t had a chance to try myself).

Coconut Cream: For the best texture, use fat-free, solid coconut cream—one that separates from stabilizer-free full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream after prolonged refrigeration. Even if you buy coconut cream labeled in a tin, it pays to chill it to separate the fat from the coconut water to make the ice cream as luxurious as possible.

Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is used to sweeten the ice cream, I didn’t use too much as the brownie is rather tangy but you can adjust it to your taste. You can certainly use another liquid sweetener (such as agave syrup or brown rice syrup) or sugar. Icing sugar/powdered sugar is best as it will dissolve easily.

Vanilla: A generous amount of vanilla gives the ice cream a delicious vanilla flavor.

Salt: A small amount of salt helps to strengthen the sweetness and deepen the flavor of both the ice cream layer and the brownie layer.

Dark Chocolate: A good tray of brownies depends on good chocolate. I used 70% cacao dark chocolate and that’s what I recommend for an intense chocolate flavor.

Muscovoda Sugar: Muscovado sugar is high in moisture and therefore helps to crank up the brownie’s interior. If you haven’t got any, don’t worry. I did some experimenting with powdered sugar and the brownies came out pretty good too.

All Purpose Flour: These brownies use plain flour and this is important – we don’t want to use self-rising flour as it will make these brownies cakey. If you want to make the brownies gluten-free, use a good GF flour mix, which has a high amount of starch for binding.

Cornstarch: A bit of cornstarch helps to break up the dullness, but if you can’t find it, use another tablespoon of plain flour instead.

Cocoa Powder: Dutch-processed cocoa powder gives the brownie layer more chocolate richness than you would get if you used melted chocolate alone.

Salt: A little salt is great in desserts and especially chocolate desserts because it makes the chocolate taste better. I only used a small amount because my vegan butter already has salt in it, but feel free to double the amount if yours doesn’t.

Baking Soda: A very small amount of baking soda helps cook these brownies, but not enough to make them cakey.

Ground Flax: I used flax seeds in place of eggs in this recipe. I haven’t tested with chia seeds, but they should work just as well in theory. Alternatively, you can also make it with aquafaba (chickpea brine) instead of flax and soy milk – see recipe.

I milk: I used soy milk to activate the hemp seeds and add moisture to the batter. I like to use soy milk in baking because it’s high in protein, but I’m sure any plant milk would work just as well.

Combine the flax and soy milk in a large mixing bowl and let sit together for 20 minutes. Next, add all the caster sugar. Place the chocolate, vegan butter and muscovado sugar in a bowl set over a pot and begin to melt over low heat.

Beat the mixture with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes, you want it to be pale in color and slightly fluffy/stringy – a bit like egg whites.

Stir together the melted chocolate, vegan butter and muscovado sugar until you have a smooth mixture, then add to the bowl with the flax, soy milk and sugar.

Stir until well combined, then add all dry ingredients in three batches, folding gently to combine. Fold only until no dry pockets remain.

Divide the batter between two identical (I used square 20cm / 8″ brownie tins) baking tins and bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes. Cool completely, then refrigerate for a few hours to firm up and brownie bases become fudgy.

When the ice cream hardens, take it out of the freezer. Take the baking paper sheet and unmold it.

Flip the first sheet of brownie over, pop a frozen slab of vegan ice cream on top and cover with the second sheet of brownie. Quickly cut into shapes with a sharp knife. It helps to warm the knife by dipping it in hot water and wiping it before each cut.