Cinnamon Toast Ice Cream Gourmet Magazine Recipes

Steps:

• Bring milk and cinnamon sticks to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then remove from heat and let steep, covered, 30 minutes.
• While milk steeps, put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 300°F
• Cut 3 slices bread into 1/4-inch cubes and transfer to a bowl. Quarter remaining 2 slices and pulse in a food processor to make bread crumbs. Whisk together butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon in another bowl. Drizzle 3 tablespoons butter mixture over bread cubes and stir to lightly coat. Spread in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan. Add bread crumbs to remaining butter mixture and stir to evenly coat. Spread crumbs evenly in another shallow baking pan.
• Bake bread cubes and crumbs, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden brown and crisp, about 25 minutes total. Cool in pans on racks, then transfer bread crumbs to a bowl.
• Return milk to a boil, then pour over bread crumbs and let stand 10 minutes. Pour milk through a fine-mesh sieve into saucepan, pressing hard on solids, then discarding them.
• Whisk together yolks, granulated sugar, molasses, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Return milk mixture to a boil and add half to yolk mixture in a slow stream, whisking until combined well. Add yolk mixture in a slow stream to milk in saucepan, whisking, then cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and thermometer registers 170 to 175°F (do not let boil).
• Remove from heat and immediately stir in cream, then pour custard through fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl. Quick-chill custard by setting bowl into a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stirring occasionally until cold, about 15 minutes. Freeze custard in ice cream maker until almost firm. Fold bread cubes into ice cream, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 2 hours. Though the toast is crunchiest the first 2 days after it's made, the ice cream keeps 1 week.

Steps:

• 1. Make the cinnamon syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cinnamon sticks, and 1/2 cup (120 ml) water and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the cinnamon is very fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool (the syrup can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks).
• 2. Make the toast: Using 3-4 tablespoons of the butter, coat both sides of each piece of bread. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet (frying pan) over medium heat. Place the bread in the skillet and set a large heat-safe plate or cake pan on top of the bread--it should fit inside the skillet. If the plate isn't very heavy, weigh it down with a few cans of beans or tomatoes. Cook until the bread is golden brown, 2-3 minutes (weighting the bread helps the entire surface area of the crumb come into contact with the hot fat and the hot pan, ensuring a nice even golden-brown toast). Remove the weights and the plate and flip the bread over, then continue to brown the second side, about 1 1/2-2 minutes longer. Brush a generous amount of cinnamon syrup over one side of each slice (add enough syrup to saturate the bread without making it soggy).
• 3. In a small bowl, mix the sugar with the cinnamon until combined, then transfer all but 2 teaspoons of it to a plate. Dip each piece of toast, syrup side down, in the cinnamon sugar.
• 4. In a large skillet (frying pan), melt the remaining 2-3 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and place the toast, sugared side down, in the skillet. Set a large heat-safe plate on top of the toast to press it down (place one or two cans of beans on top to weight it down). Cook until the edges of the bread are caramelized and the sugar is completely melted and glistening across the surface of the bread, 3-4 minutes.
• 5. Serve each slice of toast caramelized side up and sprinkled with some of the reserved cinnamon sugar and, if desired, confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Smush the softened butter with a fork. Dump in the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir to completely combine. Spread the mixture on the bread slices, completely covering the surfaces all the way to the edges.
• Place the bread on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil until golden brown and bubbling. Watch so it doesn't burn!
• Cut the slices into halves diagonally and serve.

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter a shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Mix sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt in a small bowl. Toss fruit, vanilla, and 1/4 cup sugar mixture in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Spread 10 Tbsp. butter in a thin layer across each slice of bread, working butter all the way to the edges (you might have extra butter, depending on the size of your slices). Generously sprinkle remaining sugar mixture over buttered side of bread. Add any leftover sugar to reserved fruit. Fit about half of bread slices along bottom and up sides of prepared dish, placing sugared side down and overlapping slightly. Scatter reserved fruit over and top with remaining slices of bread, placing sugared side up and shingling to cover fruit. Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet and cover tightly with foil. Set a cast-iron skillet on top to weigh down; bake until juices are bubbling, 50-60 minutes.
• Carefully remove dish from oven; remove skillet and foil. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown, 10-15 minutes more. Let cool 20 minutes.
• Divide baked cinnamon toast among plates, top with a scoop of ice cream, and drizzle with maple syrup.
• Do Ahead
• Dessert can be baked 1 day ahead. Let cool, then store tightly wrapped at room temperature. Reheat, uncovered, in a 300°F oven.