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Cocoa Biscuits With Cinnamon Nut Ice Cream

These Cocoa Biscuits With Cinnamon Nut Ice Cream bring a whole new meaning to ice cream sandwich! / Biscuits adapted from Local Milk
Course Dessert
Cuisine Vegetarian
Author Shelly Westerhausen

Ingredients

For the ice cream:

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk (I used 2% but whole would work well too), divided
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoons salt
  • 3 Tablespoons cream cheese , softened
  • 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon honey , divided
  • 1 vanilla bean , split in half
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 3/4 cup walnuts , finely chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon butter , melted

For the biscuits:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter , cold and shredded
  • 1 cup buttermilk

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup milk with the cornstarch. Set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and salt. Set aside.
  3. Combine the cream, remaining milk, vanilla bean, and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a simmer (just until tiny bubbles start to form around the edges) and let simmer for three minutes.
  4. Remove from heat, stir in the honey and cornstarch mixture, and return to heat. Bring to simmer, stirring constantly, and let cook until thickened (one or two minutes).
  5. Remove from heat, whisk in the cream cheese mixture, and chill the mixture overnight.
  6. The next day: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, 1 tablespoon butter, and cloves and transfer to a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
  7. Remove the cinnamon sticks and vanilla bean from the chilled cream mixture.
  8. Prepare the ice cream according to your ice cream maker’s instructions (mine has me stick the cream mixture into the ice cream maker for 20 minutes).
  9. minute before the ice cream is done churning, add in the nuts mixture. Transfer into a sealable container and stick in the freezer until ready to eat.
  10. For the biscuits, preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, salt, and sugar. Next, add in the butter and use your clean hands to cut it into the dough until a crumbly batter forms.
  11. Pour the buttermilk in and stir just until the dough comes together (don’t overmix!!).
  12. Dump the mixture onto a floured surface and gently fold the dough onto itself twice (this helps create the air bubbles in the biscuits).
  13. Gently pat or roll the dough down until it’s about an inch thick and use a biscuit cutter to cut out even biscuits that should then be transferred to your prepared baking sheet. Make sure your biscuits are almost touching each other on the baking sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Remove from the oven and let cool.
  14. To assemble the sandwiches: Split the cocoa biscuits in half, use an ice cream scoop to scoop out a portion of the ice cream onto the bottom of the biscuit, and then place the top biscuit over the ice cream and gently push down until the ice cream starts to ooze out the sides.
  15. Optional: Roll the biscuits in sprinkles, cocoa powder, or any other fancy and delicious topping you may have on hand.