Zucchini bread in ice cream? I know it might sound weird, but people add bits of cake to ice cream all the time; why should this be any different? Imagine taking the American classic quick bread and spiking it with dark spiced rum and then folding that into vanilla ice cream. Yes, it’s amazing!

I developed this recipe one summer when I had an abundance of zucchinis from the garden. I was also getting bored with the standard bread that everyone makes and decided it would taste better with more sugar, specifically in the form of ice cream.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can make it as easy or complicated as you want. I love a good homemade custard ice cream, and for this recipe particularly, the milk is best when steeped with cinnamon sticks for extra flavor. But not everyone has time to make homemade ice cream. So, if you want the quick version, just make your favorite zucchini bread recipe (chocolate is also very good!) and simply fold it into softened, store-bought vanilla ice cream and add a dash of ground cinnamon while mixing.

Zucchini Bread Ice Cream

Recipe by Danielle Prewett

Yields

1/2

gallon

Ingredients

1 loaf of zucchini bread (recipe below)
½ gallon vanilla ice cream
Ground cinnamon (optional)
Rum-Spiked Zucchini Bread
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs
½ cup melted butter
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons dark spiced rum
1 ½ cups grated zucchini (juices squeezed out)
½ cup chopped toasted nuts (optional)

Directions

Slice the loaf of zucchini bread into ½” pieces and lay 2-3 slices across a metal baking sheet or a plate that will fit in your freezer. You’ll only need about half of the loaf for the ice cream. Place the bread in the freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour to partially freeze. This step is important if you want chunks of bread in ice cream instead of a homogenous blend (like cookies n’ cream).
Remove the sliced bread from the freezer and break it apart into small chunks with your hands.
Meanwhile, remove the ice cream from the freezer and let it rest on the counter for about 15 minutes to soften. Scoop the softened ice cream into a large bowl and use a spatula to fold in the pieces of zucchini bread. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon to taste. Enjoy immediately, or transfer it back into the container and re-freeze if it melted too quickly.
Rum-Spiked Zucchini Bread
Preheat an oven to 350°F and grease an 8×4 loaf pan with butter.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
In a separate large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
Working in batches, add the dry mixture into the wet mixture and fold until incorporated. Don’t overstir. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until the toothpick comes clean. Allow it to cool before slicing.