This Sicilian ice cream sandwich replaces your predictable breakfast.

Picture yourself waking up in the morning and having an ice cream sandwich for breakfast alongside your coffee. Does that sound like a fun way to start your day? That’s what many Sicilians have for their breakfast. The sandwich is called “Brioche con Gelato” in Italian and it consists of a buttery, soft Brioche roll that is split open on top and filled with their favorite gelato flavors such as pistachio, hazelnut, or chocolate.

In another version of the sandwich, which is the common supermarket variety ice cream sandwich sold in the U.S. The sandwich is usually eaten for dessert or snack and contains artificial flavors, colors, and additives. The Sicilian version contains none of that and is changing how ice cream sandwiches are consumed, from a dessert or snack to a breakfast alternative. This sandwich Is going to change what you eat for breakfast.

The Sicilian Brioche is served warm allowing the gelato inside to slightly melt, resulting in a cool creamy consistency. While eating this, you will experience a contrast in textures and temperatures, as you sip your hot coffee and bite into this cool, creamy brioche ice cream sandwich. If you want to experience this breakfast like a true Sicilian, have a double espresso with it.

In comparing these two ice cream sandwiches, the first being the typical American supermarket version, the cream is layered between two cookies and served right out of the freezer. This results in a very firm texture, and you have to wait a few minutes for the ice cream and cookies to soften before eating it. In the Italian version, the brioche is usually fresh from a bakery and made with lots of butter, a little sugar, water, flour and yeast. The final result is a bread light in texture with a soft, airy, buttery interior. Once the bread is warmed, split on top, and filled with ice cream, you can eat it immediately.

There are different styles of bread called Brioche throughout Italy. Author Fred Plotkinexplained to me in an e-mail: “In all likelihood gelato found its way into what is now Italythrough Sicily when the island was under rule from the Moors (North African “Arabs” when Islam was a young religion). Brioche is an Italian term for all kinds of baked goods served at breakfast with an espresso or cappuccino. The cornet, a Roman croissant served plain or withapricot jam is in no way what we think of as Brioche but might be referred to that way in Rome”. “The Brioche in Sicily is prepared in the French style as we know it today with butter, yeast, sugar, flour and water,” added Giuliano Bugialli in a phone interview, author of Foods of Italy. Fred continued,“French chefs that worked in Sicily in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were known as Monzu’. Wealthy and noble families of Sicily often employed a French chef who would use a lot butter and cream, combining French ingredients with Sicilian recipes.” This style of cooking brought Brioche to Sicily.

Chef Massimo Carbone of the Friar’s Club restaurant in New York City likes to toast his Brioche bun before adding the gelato. “this way the gelato melts into the Brioche, making the Sandwich runny and creamy,” stated Carbone. “We sell about ten of them a day.”

If you are feeling adventurous you can book a trip to Sicily and enjoy this breakfast at many cafes around the island. For the aspiring home chef, this dish can be prepared at home in just a few hours. I like to purchase the Brioche from a French bakery the day before. You should purchase individual Brioche rolls that can be split on top and filled with the gelato, otherwise awhole loaf is a fine substitute from which you can cut slices. Make the gelato and purchase the Brioche the day before. This way when you wake up early the following morning to prepare it, everything is ready. All you have to do is warm the Brioche, split the top, and fill with your favorite gelato. Then make your espresso.

Recipe: Brioche con Gelato, serves 2

My favorite gelato to have with Brioche is chocolate. Feel free to experiment with different flavors such as pistachio, hazelnut or vanilla. I find it best to use an electric ice cream maker with a built in cooling unit, one quart capacity. The machines that you place in the freezer to cool before churning don’t achieve the same creamy consistency.

Ingredients:

2 Brioche rolls purchased at a French bakery, split across the top.

4 scoops of homemade gelato (recipe follows) or store purchased high quality gelato.

1 cup mixed berries, strawberry, raspberry and blueberry.

Method:

Slice the Brioche rolls across the top. Fill each roll with two scoops of gelato. Place one ice

cream filled roll on a plate and garnish with berries.

Chocolate Gelato recipe:

Ingredients

3 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate

2–1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup superfine sugar

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 large egg yolks

Preparation:

Coarsely chop chocolate, set aside. In a 3 qt saucepan combine milk, cream and 1/2 the

amount of sugar. Stir constantly until mixture reaches a boil. Remove from the heat and add

cocoa powder and chopped chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted and mixture is

smooth. In another bowl whisk yolks with remaining sugar until thick and pale ( about 5

minutes). Add the hot chocolate mixture in a slow steam to the yolks while whisking. Pour

mixture into a 3 qt saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until a thermometer

registers 170 degrees. Strain this mixture through a fine strainer and chill over an ice bath until

cold. Freeze in an ice cream maker and let sit overnight.