Ice cream sandwich with gluten free rice cakes
Posted: June 6, 2023 Updated: November 6, 2023
Have you missed having an ice cream sandwich since you became gluten free? You could of course make gluten free cookies but it can be hard to get that perfect consistency that isn’t rock hard straight from the freezer.
Well I have the solution for you, and it might be a little unexpected – it’s rice cakes!
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Rice cakes are almost always gluten free*
Growing up with a coeliac in the house we always had rice cakes in the cupboard. Rice cakes are perfectly round discs of puffed rice that are low in calories. Their neutral flavour lends them to being used as both savoury and sweet options. As a kid I’d regularly eat them with peanut butter and cheese, weird combo but it’s what my brother made for me!
Newer to the gluten free scene are corn thins, similar in size and shape but made predominantly of corn. Oddly some still have rice in them too!
*I haven’t seen rice cakes that contain gluten, but I don’t want to say they are always GF.
Sweet rice cakes become the perfect pick me up
Sweet rice cakes are a much more recent product, one that I came across a few times while travelling in Europe. I think what makes sweet rice cakes so satisfying is the crunch. That crunch factor makes food so much more enjoyable, think of a bag of potato chips or super fresh green grapes. You can’t beat it!
The best I’ve had were coated in dark chocolate and sprinkled with freeze-dried raspberry. However I only had them once, I think I found them on a weekend trip to Sofia in Bulgaria!
Rice cakes in Australia
Since moving back to Australia I’ve had to find new brands for both my savoury and sweet needs. I came across Table of Plenty at my husband’s office of all places. They have various snacks on offer and these were great because they are legit gluten free. I’d always opt for dark chocolate as that is my absolute favourite.
I’ve been fortunate enough to try some more flavours when Table of Plenty sent me through some of their other products to try. I’ll be writing up a review for these in the future so you can learn more about them and my thoughts.
How to upgrade sweet rice cakes
I know I said rice cakes are super versatile, but how does one upgrade a sweet rice cake? It’s already been enhanced with a layer of chocolate or caramel etc. This is where my idea for an ice cream sandwich arrived, it’s so hard to get a gluten free one and this is the perfect solution.
The extra bonus is that the different flavours of sweet rice cakes can be matched up with various ice cream flavours. Just have a look at some options below.
Dark choc rice cakes – mint ice cream, vanilla ice cream.
Milk choc rice cakes – peanut butter ice cream, strawberry ice cream
Strawberry rice cakes – boysenberry ice cream (check out Bulla Murray St)
Caramel rice cakes – vanilla, Ben and Jerry’s triple caramel chunk (Yes, it’s really gluten free)
Making your gluten free ice cream sandwich
To be honest it’s barely a recipe but rather a method of assembly to make these ice cream sandwiches. You’ll need a few things
- Rice cakes, at least two per sandwich
- Ice cream, about two tablespoons per sandwich
- A tray or something to sit them in
Method
- Take your ice cream from the freezer and allow to soften slightly if required.
- Place one mini rice cake in your cupcake pan. Scoop out two spoonfuls of ice cream.
- Place the other mini rice cake on top and press down. Use the back of your spoon to smooth out the ice cream, working quickly so the ice cream doesn’t melt.
- Place the ice cream sandwich in the freezer for 20 minutes to set.
- Drizzle with melted chocolate or Ice Magic (Magic Shell) if desired before serving.
Tips
Scooping and shaping your ice cream while it’s in the tub is much easier than shaping on the rice cake. Make the ice cream into a ball first them smoosh it between the two rice cakes.
Ice Cream Sandwich with Rice Cakes
Equipment
- 1 Cupcake tray or cupcake pan
Ingredients
- 2 Rice cakes
- 2 Tbsp Ice cream
Instructions
- Take your ice cream from the freezer and allow to soften slightly if required.
- Place one mini rice cake in your cupcake pan. Scoop out two spoonfuls of ice cream.
- Place the other mini rice cake on top and press down. Use the back of your spoon to smooth out the ice cream, working quickly so the ice cream doesn't melt.
- Place the ice cream sandwich in the freezer for 20 minutes to set.
- Drizzle with melted chocolate or Ice Magic (Magic Shell) if desired before serving.