Ice Cream Bread? Two ingredients? No way!

The incredible edible ice cream bread.

I first read about this crazy bread on The Nervous Cook website as I was surfing food blogs on the internet.  Like everybody else who has ever discovered this baking oddity, I was instantly intrigued.  A bread that requires only ice cream and flour? How could this be? Naturally, being the fearless butch baker (cough, cough) I had to "rise to the occasion" (pun intended-interpret it anyway you like *smirk*) and try to make it for myself. As a matter of fact, I not only baked one loaf but two! I experimented with the second one and it tasted much better and was a little bigger than the original loaf.

Here is the original recipe:
2 cups ice cream (make sure it's not low fat or nonfat)
1-1/2 cups self-rising flour

Here is my adaptation of recipe:
2 cups ice cream  (I used pumpkin pie ice cream)
1-1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup brown sugar

For this post, I'm going to use the adapted version of the recipe because I think it tastes better.

Here are some of the Ingredients & stuff you'll need.  I forgot to add the loaf pan.  (Actually, taking this photo this was just a good excuse for me to try my hand at  using photo-editing software. Notice there are no labels?)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Measure 2 cups of ice cream and let it sit until almost liquid (see photo below)  

Pour mixture into medium sized bowl.  

Add vanilla and brown sugar. 

Stir until thoroughly combined and there are no lumps.

This consistency works best and is easier to stir.

I discovered with the second loaf I baked that if the ice cream consistency was more liquid, the bread actually rose more and it was a lot easier to mix with the flour.  I also wouldn't have broken off the top of my spatula trying to stir it.  If I had been smarter, I would have used an electric mixer...duh.

 Slowly stir in the flour.

Stir ingredients until everything is thoroughly mixed in.

The photo below is what your batter will look like when it's all mixed together.  It's sticky, cold, and also very yummy to taste (I couldn't resist).  Since there are no eggs in this recipe, you can lick the spoon and not have to worry about getting sick unless you eat the whole thing, which I do not recommend.  

All mixed and ready for the loaf pan!

Loaf pan sprayed with cooking oil & dusted with flour.

For the second loaf, I just sprayed vegetable cooking oil in the loaf pan and the bread didn't stick at all. If you want to go to the trouble like I did the first time, you can use spray the pan with cooking oil and dust the bottom and sides with flour.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in  middle comes out clean.

Finished product.  Hot, semi-sweet pumpkin bread!

Serve warm or cooled. 

Pumpkin ice cream bread topped with swiss cheese spread.

I took a loaf in to work because no one believed that bread could be made with ice cream and flour.  Everyone liked it but couldn't put their finger on how to describe the taste.  It's not as sweet as you would expect for something made with ice cream.  The best description that I could come up with is that it tastes a bit like a scone. Scones are not really very sweet until you add other things to it like, berries, chocolate chips, etc, and sugary toppings.  This bread is not as dry as a scone but is soft and dense with an oddly moist texture.

It's a weird little bread indeed but tastes pretty good.  You really have to try making it. If there's kiddies around, it would be a fun thing to do together.

I highly recommend experimenting with the recipe.  Add nuts, fruit, chocolate chips, and use different ice cream flavors.  Have fun with it and serve it to your friends.  No one will believe that you made it with ice cream!