Leftover Hot Cross Bun Ice-Cream – With Easter only a few days away, I decided to stock up on some Hot Cross Buns, thinking that they always make for a great breakfast or snack. Boy, on this occasion was I wrong!
A couple of days go by and, well, what normally diminishes in only a matter of hours, is still sitting in the pantry, relatively, untouched! How could that be? I asked myself.
Did I buy the wrong ones? Are they the wrong brand? Are the members of the household growing bored or just ‘over’ the delightfully spiced Hot Cross Bun? What’s going on?
On a week where I would normally be negotiating for the tops of the bun, mmm, I love the tops, especially when they have been gently warmed in the oven and smothered in fresh butter. But instead, I’m left with almost an entire packet. What am I going to do with that many Hot Cross Buns?
Throw them out? What a waste. Eat them all myself? Hmmm, no. Definitely not an option!
With not many options to choose from, I sat down to go through my collection of recipe books to gather inspiration. It was then that I came across a recipe in the Woolworths Fresh Magazine March 2018 Edition which uses leftover Hot Cross Buns and Ice-cream to form, well, you guessed it….Hot Cross Bun Ice-cream. What? I hear you say! Combining Hot Cross Buns with ice-cream…this should be interesting!
The recipe is very easy and only requires three ingredients:
- Leftover, or, a fresh packet of Hot Cross Buns;
- Quality Vanilla Ice-Cream; and
- Brown Sugar.
I have to admit, when I first read this, I was a little dubious. I was unsure what to expect. Was it going to turn out like a cookie dough texture? Was it going to be edible?
The answer to both of these questions was, no and yes. Because you bake the Hot Cross Buns, to the point of being crunchy and golden, they offer a lovely crunchy, yet gravelly texture to the ice-cream. This isn’t an ice-cream you let slide elegantly down your throat, this is a dish that you eat, chomp and crunch your way through. At first, I wasn’t sure, but after a few mouthfuls and a drizzle of chocolate sauce over the top (just to make it feel even more like Easter), I was hooked! You have all the goodness of the already spiced bun, now in an ice-cream.
the sugar coated pieces of bun over the tray and place in the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes. The idea here, is you want the pieces of bun to be a dark golden colour (not burnt) and crunchy. Mine only took around 17 minutes to achieve this look and feel.
Leftover Hot Cross Bun Ice-Cream
Ingredients
- 3 hot cross buns
- 2 litres vanilla ice-cream softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- chocolate sauce to drizzle optional
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 200C / 400F / Gas Mark 6.
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Take three Hot Cross Buns and using a bread knife, roughly dice.
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In a large mixing bowl, add the brown sugar and the diced hot cross buns and stir to combine.
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Line a large baking tray with grease-proof paper. Spread the sugar coated pieces of bun over the tray and place in the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes.
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Remove your ice-cream from the freezer and allow to soften slightly.
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Once baked, remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
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Set up your food processor whilst waiting. Once the bun pieces have cooled, add them to the food processor. Turn the food processor on and pulse into rough crumbs. Add the crumbs to the softened ice-cream and using a strong spoon, stir to combine. Pour into a freezer proof container and return to the freezer until frozen. Usually 4-6 hours or overnight, if you can wait that long.
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Serve with a drizzle of store-bought chocolate sauce.
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