My dad and I have many things in common. We both love puns and jokes that make you groan. We both have awesome moustaches (OK, so mine?s imaginary, but I?d like to think I?d have an awesome moustache if I could grow one).
And, most importantly, we both love ice cream.
Even in the dead of winter, we?d gladly grab a shake or a cone, and any meal that can end in ice cream is a pretty good meal.
So you can understand that when I saw a recipe that claimed you could make bread with nothing but ice cream and flour, I was intrigued immediately.
Here?s the good news: it works. Really well.
Here?s the bad news: it tastes nothing like ice cream.
Here?s some more good news: it still tastes good.
The original recipe comes from a blog called ?Newlyweds.? You can see her post at http://www.newlyweds-blog.com/2011/08/30/ice-cream-bread/.
A word to the wise: choose ice cream that has a strong flavor. I did my bread with Death by Chocolate ice cream, and the end result was bread with almost no sweetness and a deep, subtle dark chocolate flavor. This will not yield a cake-like loaf like a pumpkin or banana bread. What you?ll end up with is more of a traditional bread texture.
Also, feel free to pick an ice cream with chocolate chips, nuts, etc. They?ll just make their way into the bread. I also used a full fat ice cream as per the advice of the original recipe. I have no idea if a light or non-fat ice cream would work for this.
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Ice Cream Bread
Ingredients
2 cups ice cream (one pint)
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (to replace self-rising flour, use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Either soften your ice cream on the counter or microwave it for 10 to 15 seconds to soften it.
Combine the ice cream and flour (or flour, baking powder and salt) in a mixing bowl and mix well until the ingredients are fully combined.
Spread the mixture into a greased loaf pan (the mixture will be really thick).
Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
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Good luck trying this bizarre experiment. I never thought it would work, but it definitely did, and it was good, especially with a little peanut butter.
And even if you?re not normally an ice cream fan, try this one out. It doesn?t taste anything like it, but I suspect that if you were to ask my dad, there would be nothing wrong with eating it with some ice cream.
Frankly, I agree.
On a side note, don?t forget to hug your loved ones today. Our hearts are hurting in my family this week after my cousin was taken from us far too soon. So if you do some baking, share it with someone you love. Life is short, and times we share together with food make for some of the best memories.
When not helping husband Joey with newspaper work, Lindsey teaches speech, debate and forensics at Haven High School. She can be reached at lindseyclarion@gmail.com.