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Gelato Biscotto is Italy’s version of a classic ice cream sandwich. Made with a soft and chewy chocolate base, a simple no-churn ice cream filling and dipped in melted chocolate and hazelnuts. It’s the ultimate summer treat and so easy to make at home!
Quick recipe snapshot
- My fave Italian summer treat, made simple.
- Made with a soft and chewy chocolate base.
- Filled with a simple no-churn ice cream (or your favourite store-bought).
- Dipped in chocolate and hazelnuts for the ultimate chocolate fix.
When I say I was obsessed with these living in Italy, I’m not joking. The variations of ice cream sandwiches in Italy are endless, and they are such a delicious treat during summer (you’ll find them pretty much everywhere).
My favourite was always a chocolate biscotto with vanilla ice cream and dipped in dark chocolate and hazelnuts.
I’ve been determined to recreate these at home, but the biscuit always bothered me. It’s not really a biscuit or cookie; it’s more cake-like and really easy to bite into, unlike a frozen solid cookie.
So after a few attempts, we’ve managed to create our very own and very delicious Italian gelato biscotto (or ice cream sandwich) at home, and they couldn’t be easier!
Ingredient notes
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It- Demerara sugar – you can replace this with light brown sugar. It gives the sandwich base a really nice flavour, plus extra chew.
- Cocoa powder – make sure it’s unsweetened.
- Vanilla – you can use vanilla extract, vanilla paste (which I really love) or a vanilla bean if you have one.
- Condensed milk & heavy (double) cream – this combination is such an easy and delicious way to make homemade no-churn ice cream.
- Double chocolate layer – once frozen and cut into sandwiches, we like to melt some dark chocolate (can use milk choc) and mix in some chopped hazelnuts. I dip half of the ice cream sandwich in melted chocolate and leave the other half without, so it’s easy to hold.
Recipe tips and FAQs
Use store-bought ice cream instead – you can replace the homemade ice cream filling with your favourite store-bought one. Let it soften so it’s easy to spread onto the base, then top, wrap and freeze.
Switch up the nuts or leave them out – you can omit the chopped nuts altogether or try something different, such as chopped pistachios or cashews.
They’ll keep well for 3 months if properly wrapped and sealed in the freezer. I recommend wrapping them tightly (individually) with baking parchment and plastic wrap (or similar) and keeping them in a container.
More Italian summer desserts to try
Italian Desserts
Stracciatella Gelato (No Churn)
Italian Desserts
Paciugo (Ligurian Ice Cream Sundae)
Italian Desserts
Sicilian Pistachio Granita
Italian Desserts
2 Ingredient Orange Sorbet
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Gelato Biscotto (Italian Ice Cream Sandwiches)
Equipment
- Baking parchment
- Electric whisk
- 15×10 inch Baking tray
- Freezer proof dish
- Clean kitchen towel
Ingredients
For the biscotto
- 140 g (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 100 g (½ cup) brown sugar, or light brown sugar
- 105 g (½ cup) white sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 110 g (¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons) all purpose flour
- 60 g unsweetened cocoa powder, (⅔ cup, packed)
For the ice cream
- 300 ml (1 and 1/4 cup) heavy cream (double cream)
- 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk, (200g/7oz)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For dipping
- 250 g (9oz) Dark chocolate, melted (can also use milk choc)
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a saucepan and let it cool. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F static.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the melted butter, olive oil, vanilla, both sugars and eggs together with a hand whisk until well combined.
- Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and add a pinch of salt, and whisk into the wet ingredients until it’s smooth with no lumps. The batter should be quite thick.
- Grease a baking tray (15×10 inch) with butter, then line it with baking parchment so the parchment doesn’t move. Spread the batter over the tray in an even and smooth layer.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover it with a clean kitchen towel and leave to cool completely.
- Once cooled cut the cake in half then trim the edges to fit a 10 inch sized dish. Line the dish with plastic wrap and baking parchment, leaving enough overhang to wrap over the top.
- Lay your first piece of cake on the bottom of the dish with the top side down.
- Now make your ice cream. Put the heavy cream, condensed milk and vanilla in a bowl and whisk with an electric whisk to stiff peaks. Spread the ice cream in an even layer over the cake. Top with your second layer of cake then cover tightly with plastic wrap on top.
- Freeze for at least 8 hours to overnight. Once frozen, trim the edges and cut into 10 ice cream sandwiches (or cut more or less to your own preference).
Optional decoration
- Mix chopped hazelnuts with melted chocolate the dip half of the ice cream sandwiches into the chocolate leaving the remaining half uncovered (easier to hold).
Notes
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
