Hold up! Don’t freak out by the word olive oil ice cream. Trust me when I say that olive oil ice cream is actually so incredibly tasty. Olive Oil Stracciatella Ice Cream, on the other hand, is a match made in heaven. The inspiration for this recipe came about a year ago. I went to a restaurant and had the tastiest olive oil ice cream sandwich. Naturally, I wanted to recreate it so that I didn’t have to keep coming back to the same restaurant every day for the dessert. Sadly the restaurant doesn’t even sell this dessert anymore 🙁 but my recipe for olive oil stracciatella ice cream sandwiches are actually so tasty that I am not shedding tears over the restaurant.
The base for the recipe is like my other ice cream recipes, your mix of eggs, sugar and cream. And then, of course, the addition of high-quality olive oil. The olive oil adds this nice nutty and fruity flavour to the ice cream. Nothing overpowering. The flavour is subtle but very tasty. As for the sandwich part of the olive oil stracciatella ice cream sandwiches, I decided to go with a blondie. Now in hindsight, there are a few things that I would do differently with this recipe. However, despite these changes (which I will implement next time around), this dessert is so perfect!
BEST DESSERT FOR THE SUMMER MONTHS
First and foremost the ice cream base is super easy to make and there is nothing I would change about it. Well, except maybe I would double the recipe so that I have ice cream to eat once the sandwiches are finished 😉 However, the blondie recipe is your basic cookie dough recipe without the chocolate chips. What is awesome about this recipe is that the blondies stay super soft even after you place them in the freezer!
The batter for the blondies is quite thick – but don’t go panicking and think you need to thin it out. I simply took a cookie sheet and placed a layer of parchment paper on top. Then using a spatula and an offset spatula I spread the batter in a thin layer to reach length and width of the cookie pan. Don’t panic if the layer of batter isn’t even. If some parts are spread thinner than others it is okay!
A FEW CHANGES
I only have a few changes I would make to this recipe. First I would spread the batter to make sure it reached every corner of the cookie sheet. I was afraid the blondies would be too thin if I continued to spread the batter. That isn’t an issue since the baking soda in the recipe rises the dough. Second, I would probably cut the amount of baking soda in half so that I didn’t get as much of a rise in the batter, to begin with. I felt that my sandwiches were a bit too thick and I would have prefered a thinner layer of sandwich. However, I also think cutting the baking soda would make the dough denser and it would not freeze well. So next time I make these, I will roll the blondies out to the thinness I want prior to assembling the sandwich!
OLIVE OIL stracciatella SANDWICHES
nutty ice cream with flecks of chocolate. blondie sandwich.
Olive Oil Stacciatella Ice Cream Sandwiches
olive oil ice cream with flecks of chocolate sandwiched between two layers of a blondie.
Ingredients
Olive Oil Stracciatella Recipe:
- 1 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
- 1 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 4 large egg yolks *
- 1/2 cup high-quality extra virgin olive oil
- 2 ounces chocolate (you can use dark, milk, semi-sweet, whatever you prefer!)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Blondie Recipe:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup can sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
Olive Oil Ice Cream
-
Combine the whole milk, 1/3 cup of full cream, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer. In a large separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Set aside.
-
Remove from the milk mixture from the heat and slowly temper a bit of the milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking continuously as you pour. Return the tempered milk/egg mixture back into the saucepan over medium-low heat. Stirring continuously, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon (about 10 minutes).
-
Place the heavy cream and vanilla in a large bowl container. Once the ice cream base is thick, pour it through a fine-meshed sieve over the cream. Whisk mixture together. Slowly whisk the olive oil into the ice cream base–whisking as you go. Place mixture straight into the freezer, stirring every 25 minutes or so. Alternatively, you can place ice cream base in an airtight container and set in the refrigerator until it has completely chilled overnight. While the ice cream is chilling begin to make the blondies.
-
Churn ice cream in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. As the ice cream is churning, prepare the chocolate. Combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until the chocolate has melted. During the last 10 minutes of churning, begin to spoon the chocolate mixture into the churning ice cream so that tiny flecks begin to appear.
-
By now the blondies have been made and are cool. Start to spoon the just-churned ice cream onto one half of the blondie. Place the other half on top and press down slightly (to form a sandwich). Wrap the sandwich in parchment paper and stick in the freezer for 3-4 hours or until the ice cream is set. Once the ice cream has set, you can remove the sandwich and cut into 8 pieces.
Blondies:
-
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, allowing the parchment to hang over the long sides of the pan.
-
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
-
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter on medium-low speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the brown and granulated sugars, increase the speed to medium and beat until slightly fluffy, about 1 minute, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
-
Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Transfer dough to baking sheet and using a spatula begin to spread the batter to cover the baking sheet (a thin layer). Cook for 13 -15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on wire rack for at least an hour. Once it is cool, flatten the blondie with a rolling pin to desired thinness. Cut the blondie in half.
-
To assemble the ice cream sandwiches scoop of ice cream onto one half of the blondie, spread as you go. You can use almost all the ice cream! Place the half on top. Wrap in parchment paper and freeze until ice cream has set. Then you can cut the blondie sandwich into smaller pieces.
-
Serve the ice cream sandwiches immediately, or individually wrap them in parchment paper and place them in a freezer-safe container for up to three days.
***
ALL THE BUTTERY GOODNESS OF A BLONDIE COMBINED WITH THE RICH NUTTINESS OF OLIVE OIL. THIS ICE CREAM SANDWICH IS A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN!
