Give Ice Cream Sandwiches A Savory Twist With Sesame Rolls

How literal are you willing to take the term "ice cream sandwich?" In places like Sicily and Singapore, the expression definitely hits closer to the sandwich ideal, with the former making brioche con gelato and the latter using a folded-over piece of white sandwich bread to make a pocket for their ice cream. What if we take a page from our international ice cream lovers and incorporate some of our own savory bread into the ice cream sandwich game? 

Such is the idea behind a fun recipe from Food Network that uses a classic sesame seed-topped hamburger bun as the starchy bookends for an ice cream sandwich. The idea pairs this mildly nutty bread with a popular ice cream flavor: earthy matcha. The grassy flavor of green tea swirled into a richly sweet ice cream base is the perfect complement to a slightly savory sesame bun, combining two signature Asian flavors of sesame and matcha. So how should you go about bringing this recipe to life at home? 

Start things off by picking the right bun for the job. Select an enriched bread, like a brioche bun or milk bread bun, which has plenty of butter and milk to make a soft and rich bread dough. The size is up to you, as both slider and regular burger bun sizes will work, but just know that one is much bigger than the other. Funnily enough, you need not buy burger buns with sesame seeds on them. Instead, you can add them yourself. 

To make your own sesame-topped buns, preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small bowl, mix together a blend of black and white sesame seeds and granulated sugar (about a tablespoon of each). Brush the tops of your rolls with a bit of egg wash, sprinkle some sesame-sugar mix on top of that, and toast the buns for five minutes. Just like that, you have your own sweet and savory buns to make exotic ice cream sandwiches with. 

Don't feel limited to pairing this bun with just matcha ice cream. The nuttiness of the sesame seeds also complements strawberry, vanilla, and even chocolate flavors. A good rule of thumb is to think of sesame as sharing a similar flavor profile as peanut, so whatever flavors you would pair with peanut would probably work well with sesame seeds. Whatever flavor you chose, you'll find this bread your go-to base for an epic ice cream sandwich.