Brown Bread Ice Cream

We've been a bit disappointed with the food scene in London. It's true you can get just about anything you want, but the quality and price of food in the grocery stores and restaurants often falls far from our least expectations. That being said we have found a few gems in the Big Old Smoke. One such gem, just a few blocks away from our apartment flat is Andrew Edmunds*. It's a tiny candle-lit place with tables squashed together and squeezed in corners. The food, however, is pretty darn good and on one recent visit I tried the Brown Bread Ice Cream. I had never had it and the server told me it was from Victorian times where old toasted bread was stirred into vanilla ice cream. I had to give it a go - it was delicious! I've never seen it on any other menu and haven't seen it in any ice cream shops in England so I wanted to try making it at home.

First step, make some brown bread. I wanted something moist and easy to crumble so I made my Irish Soda Bread. This is the simplest bread to make (taking mere minutes to stir together) and absolutely heaven to eat warm from the oven. Would be a perfect too for a certain holiday that falls tomorrow. If you don't have the time, energy, tools to make ice cream for the Brown Bread Ice cream you must still do the following: (1) make this bread and eat the better part of it minutes out of the oven, standing at the kitchen counter with a huge slab of softened butter; (2) save a few bits of bread to make the brown bread crumbs (recipe below); (3) stir into your favorite store-bought vanilla ice cream (softened); (4) freeze it for a bit and enjoy your Brown Bread Ice Cream.

If you do have the time, energy, and tools to make ice cream at home use this ice cream base recipe - it's basically a vanilla ice cream base, but some of the regular sugar is replaced with dark brown sugar.

BROWN BREAD ICE CREAM BASE

• 2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• pinch salt
• 6 egg yolks
• 1x Brown Bread Crumbs (recipe follows)

METHOD

Heat cream, milk, sugars, vanilla bean (scraped and leave pod in pot) and salt. Heat the mixture to a scald. Meanwhile whisk egg yolks. Temper the eggs with the hot mixture. Put everything back on a low heat to thicken the mixture so it coats the back of a spoon. Strain. Chill mixture. Spin the ice cream following your ice cream machine's instructions. Just as it is done spinning, add most of the brown bread crumbs, reserving some for garnish. Keep in freezer till ready to serve.

BROWN BREAD CRUMBS

• 3 oz (2-3 slices) brown bread
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 oz unsalted butter

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350ºF/175ºC. Crumble brown bread between your fingers - some should be like sand, other like small pebbles. Because my bread is so moist using your hands will be possible if you use my Irish Soda Bread recipe. If you use another brown or whole wheat bread you may need to use a food processor. Melt butter and brown sugar on low heat till sugar is melted and the mixture barely comes to a bubble. Put brown bread crumbs in a heat safe bowl and pour the brown sugar+butter mixture over top. Stir in till well mixed. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment (grease with a small bit flavorless oil) or use a silpat. Bake for about 15-20 minutes till edges crisp up. It will bake into one piece, but let it cool for a few minutes after it comes out of the oven and then crumble, leaving some bits larger than others. Do not use in the ice cream base until it is completely cooled. Reserve some crumbs for garnish.

These brown bread crumbs are pretty delicious and I can see them making an appearance as a crumble topping for lots of sweets, especially as the streusel for a coffee cake or jam tart.

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day I'm joining Daily Spud's St. Paddy's Day Food Parade with this post!

*Andrew Edmunds does not have a website. The restaurant is located at 46 Lexington Street in Soho, Central London. Reservations taken only a week in advance at +44 (0) 207 437 5708.

Comments

[Kristin]

I'd never heard of brown bread ice cream before I moved to Ireland, but it's fairly common over here. It sounds odd until you have a bite, and then you're sold! I've been meaning to try making it myself at home for ages now.

[Daily Spud]

I'm a big fan of brown bread ice cream and Kristin's right, it's a common enough thing to find in Ireland, possibly dating from when Darina Allen did a recipe for it - it's certainly been a popular entry for the Paddy's Day Food Parade this year! As for soda bread straight from the oven, I could inhale the stuff :)

[gastroanthropologist]

Kristin - I too had never heard of the stuff till I saw it here in London, but I'm sure glad I have now! The texture and taste kind of reminds of Grape Nut Ice Cream you can find in New England.

Daily Spud - As you already know I am guilty of inhaling warm Soda Bread. I'm making more tomorrow in honor of St Patricks Day =).

[5 Star Foodie]

Your brown bread ice cream looks terrific, Junior and I made one as well for St. Paddy's parade, it was her absolute favorite flavor in Ireland.

[gastroanthropologist]

5 Star Foodie - Sounds like today this Victorian treat is much more popular in Ireland, than here in England! From the pictures on your blog I can tell Junior is super cute and obviously a seasoned cook!

[Gemma]

I love brown bread ice-cream but have never tried to make it - maybe I should remedy that... On London restaurants, if you haven't been yet then I highly recommend St John, St John Bread & Wine, and Rochelle School Canteen. All well worth visiting. And, as you live close to Andrew Edmunds, you should definitely visit Fernandez & Wells and Koya.

[gastroanthropologist]

Gemma - Yes, I have been to both St Johns and they have been great, never to Rochelle so will absolutely check them out. I've gotten coffee at Fernandez & Wells and thought they only had pastries and sandwiches, so will definitely go back.

I hail from California so am super spoiled and have pretty high expectations. So many times in London we've had a good meal and then we get the bill, do the conversion to dollars (it's been three years we have to stop that!) and think, ok, back home we would have spent 1/3 the price for that. I have no problem paying big bucks for food, but it has definitely got to be worth it. At Andrew Edmunds the price paid was absolutely worth the meal.

Another great find was Duke of Cambridge near Angel - had lunch there a few weeks ago and going back next week. I also love Lantana Cafe - eat there about three times a week!

[Gemma]

On the flip side we are so used to prices here that when we go on holiday to the US we love eating out and converting back to £!

Our favourite affordable options in London were Vietnamese food on Kingsland Road (Song Que in particular) and the Turkish restaurants on Stoke Newington Road but they are a bit off the beaten track if you don't live in that area!

Fernandez & Wells on Beak St is all sandwiches and pastries but the one opposite Andrew Edmunds has some different things on offer - more of a quick bite to eat than a full meal though. The Duke of Cambridge is a great pub isn't it - lovely in the Summer with all the light from those huge windows.

I hadn't heard of Lantana but looking it up now - we're heading to London in a few weeks for the weekend so I'm looking forward to revisiting some favourite spots.

Oh, one more, have you been to Trullo? That's worth a look, a lovely space with great food and very reasonable prices.

[Lori]

I was just on a culinary tour in Charleston last week and they blamed the plain (translated bad) parts of their food history like overcooked veggies on the English influences! This ice cream is so interesting. I'm going to look for it in Ireland this summer. Love your final touch with the topping.

[gastroanthropologist]

Gemma - Oh, I haven't had Vietnamese in a long while - will absolute venture Song Que as soon as I can! Haven't been to Trullo, will add it that to the list. Thanks so much for the recommendations!

Lori - I think it will be easy for you to find Brown Bread Ice Cream in Ireland, especially after talking to Daily Spud and 5 Star Foodie. Looking forward to hearing about your travels to Ireland come summer!

[Tangled Noodle]

After calling 'no mas' on a full Irish breakfast about 3 days into our tour of Ireland a few years back, I opted for freshly baked brown bread and a dish of butter every morning. I couldn't have been happier or more sated! I. Adore. Brown Bread.

With that said, I will have to follow your shortcut suggestion for making Brown Bread Ice Cream, but not for lack of inclination or initiative. I left my ice cream maker back in Minnesota! Waaah!!

[OysterCulture]

I was about to say I found brown bread ice cream in Ireland, but I was beaten to the punch. I love your recipe and cannot wait to check it out. I hope you are doing well, with your project being just about ready. I am so happy for you.