This weekend is the quiet before the storm. My April is a gigantic busy monster with fangs and I like to think that next week is the prep before I have this spring-like metamorphosis into a busy bee.
Speaking of bees…for the past few weeks there has been a nest behind my apartment growing and growing and growing. And it’s sort of grown into a monstrous bee hive which is totally effing scary but also REALLY COOL.
Tomorrow a very nice stoner bee keeper dude is coming over, dressed in his E.T.-like costume to remove the honeycomb one by one and transport all 10,000 bees and the queen bee to South Pasadena.
I’m really excited to watch through my glass back door, which will very much shield me from said 10k bees and my face. I, of course, asked if I could have some honey but he said everything has to go into the boxes, every drop of honey. Kind of a bummer but I’m excited about their new life.
These hot cross bun sandwiches are like hot cross buns but a million times better because they’re filled with no-churn rum raisin ice cream which is AMAZING. If you hate raisins, which is about half the population, simply leave them out.
The buns are fluffy and soft ice cream inside is so delicious.
Ingredients
No-Churn Rum Raisin Ice Cream:
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup rum
- 1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- Pinch of salt
Dough:
- 3/4 cup warm whole milk
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Egg Wash for Buns:
- 1 egg yolk whisked with 1 tablespoons of water
X Frosting:
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- To make the ice cream: Combine raisins and rum in a small glass bowl. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes and then allow to stand until room temperature, about 15 minutes.
- Reserve 2 tablespoons of rum raisin liquid and drain the raisins and set them aside. In the bowl of a stand-up mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream and pinch of salt. Beat for about 2 to 3 minutes, until soft peaks form. Do not walk away because it’s so easy to over-beat this mixture. Fold in the rum and raisins. Transfer to a 8x4-inch loaf pan or any other 3-quart freezer-safe container. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until firm, about 8 hours.
- To make the buns: In a medium bowl or 4-cup measuring cup, combine the milk, sugar and yeast. Allow to stand for 5 minutes, until foamy on top. This will let you know the yeast has been activated. Whisk in the egg and egg white.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand-up mixer with the dough hook, add the flour, cinnamon and salt. Mix for a few seconds until flour mixture is combined. Pour in the egg and milk mixture and mix for about 30 seconds, until most of the liquid is absorbed into the flour mixture. Add the butter and turn the mixer to medium speed and allow the dough to knead for about 5 minutes. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm area of your home to rise for 1 hour.
- Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with a bit of cooking spray. Divide the dough into 12 pieces (that weight about 2.3 ounces each) and shape them into balls. Place them side by side in the baking dish and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow them to rise for about 30 to 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the tops of the balls with the egg wash mixture and transfer to the oven to bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- To make the frosting: whisk the sifted powdered sugar with the milk and vanilla extract. Transfer to a piping bag or 1 gallon ziplock and snip the end with a pair of scissors.
- To assemble the ice cream sandwiches: Slice the buns in half. Pipe the frosting onto the tops and place a scoop of ice cream onto the center of each bottom half. Place the top bun on top and eat away!
This recipe post cements my belief that you’re the food blogger that speaks to my soul the most when it comes to creating masterpieces like this guy!
awww thank youuuu! xoxo
We had a serious, like surious, beehive in this old tree that had fallen down side our cabin. Our dog always played in the woods around the property and she came home one day with her entire face swelled up! Her ears were big and puffy and her head was not only huge, but covered in bumps from dozens of bee strings – poor girl! Staying behind the glass door is smarts – I’m sure the ET clad, stoner bee keeper will get the job done.
P.S. I only want to eat hot cross buns if there’s the addition if ice cream. duh!
Oh noooooo this is so sad. Poor baby. The stoner bee keeper was super serious and got. it. done! BYE BEES.
Drooling over here. What a special treat! These little sandwiches look amazing.
I am for sure going to have to make the ice cream for my bf. He goes to New Zealand every year or so to visit family, and he loves the Tip Top rum raisin ice cream there. Whittaker’s chocolate also makes a rum raisin bar, it is AMAZING. These sandwiches look incredible too!
Those two flavors sound so bomb!
sometimes i get bored of the idea of hot cross buns, even though i love raisins (in baked goods, but i’m still not convinced that munching on them plain is enjoyable). love that you made them into ice cream sandwiches!
One summer day, I was in my kitchen and I noticed a liquid dripping from my light switch plate in my kitchen. I assumed something got splashed. I asked no questions, wiped it up and went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, there were more drips–several, making their way down the wall. WHAT WAS IT?!
It smelled sweet. It was sticky. I took a picture and sent it to my landlord.
My landlord came over, took the face plate off of the light switch and the liquid, along with a bunch of dead bees poured out. It was HONEY and it was coming out in full force.
THERE WAS A BEE HIVE IN MY WALL!!
Now, when a beehive is in operating condition, it stays cool enough that no honey should be lost but something happened and the whole hive had died–resulting in everything melting and pouring out of my wall.
I often wonder how long I was roommates with a whole bee hive without even knowing about it.
OMG! That is insane! So the bee guy came and said the hive has been in my wall for years! YEARS?!?! I was like whaaaaa! It’s all so scary! Haha.
I can only imagine: bees are fascinating but only when they are not too close. This brings back bad memories for me as a wasp nest was formed inside my bedroom wall! Scary…
These ice cream sandwiches look really cool! A nice way to be able to eat ice cream differently.
Eeeeee! Wasps are sorta scary on a whole other level
This sounds sooooo good! I don’t get why people hate raisins, yet they gobble up all other dried fruits. I say double them up!
Good luck with the bees! It sounds more entertaining than TV!
Thanks girlfriend!
I love the idea of making hot cross buns into ice cream sandwiches- genius!
It would work perfectly with my Brandied Hot Cross Bun Loaf http://www.lifewithoutlemons.com/2016/03/brandied-hot-cross-bun-loaf.html
Defo going to be putting some ice cream on that loaf- Happy Easter.
Oh that looks good!