Recipe from Caitlin Williams and Meg Ray
Adapted by Amanda Hesser
- Total Time
- 2 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(48)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This recipe came to The Times from Meg Ray and Caitlin Williams, the owners of Miette Cakes, a bakery in San Francisco. They reimagined a classic booze pie as ice-cream sandwiches, literally a children’s dessert for adults. They replaced the graham-cracker crust with homemade graham crackers, turned the mousse into ice cream and elevated it with a relatively abstemious dose of Cognac. On the surface, it’s a tasty trifle, but there is subtlety too, with a little cinnamon here, some salt there. —Amanda Hesser
Featured in: The Ice Cream Sandwich Comes of Age
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Ingredients
Yield:Makes 10 ice-cream sandwiches
- 2cups flour
- ½cup wheat flour
- 1teaspoon salt
- ½teaspoon cinnamon
- 1cup unsalted butter
- ½cup packed dark brown sugar
- ¼cup honey
- 1cup milk
- 2cups cream
- ⅔cup sugar
- 6egg yolks
- 2tablespoons Cognac
- 2tablespoons chocolate liqueur
For the Graham Crackers
For the Cognac Ice Cream
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
617 calories; 39 grams fat; 24 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 60 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 35 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 267 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Make the graham crackers: sift together the flours, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar. Add the honey and mix until blended. Add the dry ingredients in two batches, mixing until combined before adding the second batch. Mold the dough into 2 balls, wrap in plastic, flatten and chill for at least an hour.
Step
2
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out half the dough on a piece of parchment paper to a large square, ⅛-inch thick. Cut the sheet of dough into 3- by 3-inch squares, leaving them as is on the parchment; trim any excess dough from the edges. Transfer this sheet of dough to a baking sheet, using the parchment paper to lift it. Repeat with the remaining dough. Chill for 30 minutes. Bake until golden, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cool, then break into precut squares.
Step
3
Make the ice cream: in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk, cream and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Do not boil. Gently whisk the yolks in a bowl. Temper them by pouring ½ cup of the hot liquid into them, then whisk this into the hot liquid in the pan. Over medium heat, cook the custard, stirring continuously in a figure-eight pattern until it coats the back of a spoon. Strain into a heatproof bowl. Stir in the alcohol, then chill in the refrigerator. Churn in an ice-cream maker until thick. Freeze until firm.
Step
4
Assemble the sandwiches: scoop the ice cream onto a graham cracker, top with another graham cracker, press gently and serve.
Ratings
48
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Cooking Notes
Julie
by "wheat flour" do you mean "whole wheat flour" as apposed to the "flour" ingredient meaning "all purpose flour"?
Molly
These are great. I am not sure I would make the ice cream again unless I had some extra cognac and liquer just lying around, but the crackers are worth making time and again. I think it is easiest to roll the dough out on a silpat sheet and score them into the size you want. They separate after they bake. Adults and kids love them.
Donna
Inquiring minds would LOVE to know!!..Whole wheat...whole wheat pastry flour or 'wheat' as ingredient? I have the same query as Julie! Thoughts...better...response please?
Stephanie Todd
Possibly the most delicious dessert I have eaten in my entire life.
Stephanie Todd
Delicious! Well worth the trouble.
Kathy
Are 2 cups of cream and a cup of milk equal to 3 cups of half and half?
Diane
This ice cream (I’m at the chill stage) seems epic! Plan to sandwich between triple chocolate espresso cookies we have pre scooped and frozen. Guess we can call these ice cream sliders. Ha!
Schmidtlis
This is great ice cream, but I preferred it just with 4Tbs cognac leaving out the chocolate liqueur. I put the ice cream in round push-out dessert forms and cut discs. My attempt to cut the dough with maple leaf cookie cutters pretty much failed as I was looking for elegance and ended up with caveman cookies. Delicious, but rough around the edges. Stick with squares or maybe circles. Easy last minute assembly for party of 30.
Julie
by "wheat flour" do you mean "whole wheat flour" as apposed to the "flour" ingredient meaning "all purpose flour"?
Donna
Inquiring minds would LOVE to know!!..Whole wheat...whole wheat pastry flour or 'wheat' as ingredient? I have the same query as Julie! Thoughts...better...response please?
Molly
These are great. I am not sure I would make the ice cream again unless I had some extra cognac and liquer just lying around, but the crackers are worth making time and again. I think it is easiest to roll the dough out on a silpat sheet and score them into the size you want. They separate after they bake. Adults and kids love them.
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