I had the opportunity to try Ben & Jerry’s two-ingredient ice-cream bread using four different flavors: vanilla, Chunky Monkey, Half Baked, and Netflix & Chill’d. Out of the four, I found the vanilla and Chunky Monkey breads to be the most enjoyable, and I believe they would make delicious French toast. On the other hand, the Half Baked and Netflix & Chill’d loaves were not as satisfying as the ice cream on its own.
To begin, I followed Ben & Jerry’s recipe, which calls for their famous pints of ice cream and self-rising flour. Although this recipe has been shared before, I was excited to use some of my favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavors, including Half Baked, Chunky Monkey, and Netflix & Chill’d, as well as a basic vanilla from Häagen-Dazs.
To start, I gathered my ingredients and allowed the ice cream to melt. Since I only had two loaf pans, I put the Chunky Monkey and Netflix & Chill’d pints in the fridge to defrost slowly, while the vanilla and Half Baked were placed on the table for immediate use. I avoided defrosting the ingredients in the microwave, as the process could potentially alter the frozen treat’s texture, according to the insights shared on the Ben & Jerry’s website.
The vanilla loaf was a breeze to prepare and had the potential to be a great option for French toast. I made sure to thoroughly combine the batter before transferring it to a loaf pan and baking it in the oven for an hour, as per the instructions.
The resulting vanilla ice-cream bread was delightfully sweet, with a nice crispness around the edges and a soft, sponge-like middle. While it was enjoyable on its own, I believe this bread would truly shine when topped with fresh berries and whipped cream, or as a base for French toast.
On the other hand, the Half Baked bread didn’t quite meet my expectations. Despite my love for Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked flavor, which combines chocolate and vanilla ice cream with cookie dough and brownie chunks, the ice-cream bread version fell short. Stirring the batter was challenging due to the presence of brownie and cookie dough chunks, so I decided to use my stand mixer instead. However, the resulting bread had an odd overall flavor and a chunky texture throughout the middle, thanks to the cookie-dough bites and brownie bits. It simply didn’t live up to the deliciousness of the original pint.
As for the Chunky Monkey loaf, it didn’t taste like traditional banana bread as I had anticipated. Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey flavor features banana ice cream with chocolate chunks and walnuts, leading me to believe it would result in a sweet loaf similar to banana bread. I found that using a stand mixer made preparing this batter much easier and quicker than attempting to mix it by hand. The Chunky Monkey bread took the longest to bake, about an hour and 10 minutes. Despite not tasting like banana bread, this loaf was my favorite among the four. The walnuts added a satisfying crunch, and the generous chunks of chocolate complemented the fruity flavor. This bread would be fantastic topped with vanilla ice cream and fresh banana slices.
Lastly, the Netflix & Chill’d flavor presented some challenges in creating the batter and resulted in a slightly strange-tasting bread. This flavor includes peanut-butter ice cream with swirls of pretzel and fudgy brownie bits. The batter made with this ice cream was incredibly thick and difficult to combine, even with the help of a stand mixer. While the crispy exterior of the bread was enjoyable, the inside was dense. The presence of pretzel swirls, although delicious in ice cream, didn’t translate well to the bread. Adding chocolate might have improved the overall flavor, but the combination of flavors and textures didn’t quite hit the mark.
Overall, creating these ice-cream breads was a fun change of pace. However, I must admit that I would prefer to enjoy the ice cream straight from the pint. That being said, I would certainly consider making the vanilla and Chunky Monkey loaves again, particularly to convert them into French toast or bread pudding. With just two ingredients, this unique treat is easy to make. While the bread wasn’t as satisfying as eating a bowl of ice cream solo, it presented an interesting twist on a classic dessert.
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