Baby it’s hot outside! So so hot – a perfect level of heat for a refreshing vegan ice-cream sandwich, don’t you think? These, classic-inspired, dairy-free ice-cream sandwiches have been our latest treat of choice as UK is going through a major heatwave. I filled my freezer with these and we’ve been enjoying them when a mood for something sweet yet cold hits us in the middle of a hot afternoon.

These vegan ice-cream sandwiches are surprisingly easy to make and absolutely delightful – creamy (no-churn!) vanilla ice-cream hugged snuggly by two pieces of fudgy vegan brownie…heaven, I tell ya! So much so that Duncan pronounced them one of the best things I’ve made, which is a high praise indeed given I’ve now published close to 800 recipes!! – I think it’s because they are based on a suburban classic and he got all nostalgic.

To make the base, I simply baked two trays of my vegan brownies. I made a single batch and split it between two tins and adjusted the baking time accordingly. My original recipe uses aquafaba, which I have been using in brownies instead of eggs for years, but I am aware that some people are reluctant to consume chickpea brine and I wanted to offer and alternative. I decided to see what will happen if I whip activated flax in the same manner as aquafaba and after a little tweaking in terms of the amounts, I am happy to report that it worked really well indeed.

For the ice-cream layer, I blended softened cashews and coconut cream with some sweetener, vanilla and salt until smooth. I poured the mixture into a silicone mould, sealed it with a piece of baking paper to prevent ice crystals from forming and popped into the freezer for a few hours. Once solid, I sandwiches it between two slabs of fudgy brownie and cut into pieces.

Instead of making your own ice-cream, you can simply buy your favourite vegan ice-cream, let it thaw just a little and spread it between two sheets of vegan brownie then pop it back into the freezer for the ice-cream to harden before cutting.

MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS

CASHEWS: Raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for at least 20 minutes, are one of the key ice-cream ingredients. They are fattier than other nuts and neutral in flavour, which means that they cannot really be replaced with anything else apart from macadamias perhaps (apparently but I have not had a chance to try myself).

COCONUT CREAM: For best texture, use fatty, solid coconut cream – the type that separates from a tin of stabiliser-free full fat coconut milk or coconut cream after prolonged refrigeration. Even if you buy a tin labelled coconut cream, it pays off to chill it to separate the fat from coconut water to make the ice-cream as luxurious as possible.

MAPLE SYRUP: Maple syrup is used to sweeten the ice-cream, I didn’t use an awful lot as the brownie is rather indulgent but you can adjust that to your taste. You can of course use another liquid sweetener (like agave syrup or brown rice syrup) or sugar. Icing sugar/powdered sugar is best as it will dissolve easily.

VANILLA: A generous amount of vanilla gives the ice-cream delicious vanilla flavour.

SALT: A small amount of salt helps to reinforce sweetness and deepened the flavour both the ice-cream layer and the brownie layer.

DARK CHOCOLATE: A good tray of brownies relies on good chocolate. I used 70% cacao dark chocolate and that’s what I recommend for an intensely chocolatey flavour.

MUSCOVADO SUGAR: Muscovado sugar is high in moisture and so it helps to crank up brownies’ fudgy interior. If you haven’t got any, don’t worry. I made some tests with caster sugar and the brownies came out really good too.

ALL PURPOSE FLOUR: Plain flour is used in these brownies and that’s important – we don’t want to use self-rising flour as it would make these brownies cakey. If you want to make the brownies gluten-free, use a good GF flour mix, one which contains a high proportion of starches for binding.

CORNSTARCH: A bit of cornstarch helps with fudginess, but if you cannot have it, use another tablespoon of plain flour instead.

COCOA POWDER: natural (not Dutch processed) cocoa powder gives the brownie layer even more chocolate richness than what you would get if you were to use melted chocolate alone.

SALT: A bit of salt is great in desserts and especially in chocolate desserts as it makes the chocolate taste better. I only used a small amount as my vegan butter contains salt already, but if yours doesn’t, feel free to double the amount.

BAKING SODA: A very small amount of baking soda helps these brownies cook, but it’s not enough to make them cakey.

GROUND FLAX: I used ground flax seeds in place of eggs in this recipe. I have not tested with chia seeds, but they should work just as well in theory. Alternatively, you can also make them with aquafaba (chickpea brine) instead of flax and soy milk – see method.

SOY MILK: I used soy milk to activate flax seeds and to add moisture to the batter. I like using soy milk in baking as it’s high in protein, but I am pretty sure any plant milk will work just as well.

Combine FLAX and soy milk in a large mixing bowl and let them sit together for 20 minutes. Next, add in all of the caster sugar. Place chocolate, vegan butter and muscovado sugar in a bowl suspended over a pot and start melting it on low heat.

Whisk the mixture with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes, you want it become pale in colour and a little gooey/stringy – a bit like an egg white.

Stir melted chocolate, vegan butter and muscovado sugar together gently until you have a homogenous mixture, then add it to the bowl with flax, soy milk and sugar.

Stir until well combined, next add all of the dry ingredients in three batches, folding gently to combine. Fold only until there are no dry pockets left.

Divide the batter between two identical (I used square 20 cm / 8″ brownie tins) baking tins and bake for 15 minutes in a pre-heated oven. Cool down completely, then refrigerate for a few hours to firm up and for the brownie bases to become fudgy.

Once the ice-cream is solid, remove it from the freezer. Take the baking paper sheet of and unmould.

Flip the first sheet of brownie upside down, pop a frozen slab of vegan ice-cream on top and cover with the second sheet of brownie. Quickly cut to size with a sharp knife. It helps to warm up the knife by dipping it in hot water and wiping before each cut.