If you’re not a food photographer, you might think that shooting ice cream sandwiches is fun. Nothing could be further from the truth. Photographing ice cream is one of the most challenging foods, because it melts so quickly.

I made the mistake of trying to shoot this last Saturday at the cottage, where it was a sweltering 32°C, with a humidex of 41°C! The ice cream wasn’t the only thing melting. We were sweating just standing still. I finally shoved the sandwiches back into the freezer and spent the afternoon on the hammock, in the shade. I got up very early Sunday morning before the heat got too bad and managed to get a few good shots.

Do you remember ice cream sandwiches before they got all fancy? That squidgey chocolate wafer, so moist, it stuck to the paper wrapper. How you had to lick the chocolate crumbs off your fingers after you were all done. The familiar, bland, slightly too sweet, vanilla ice cream center.

I wanted to recreate the ice cream sandwiches of my youth, but with a bit of an update. I’d keep the fudgy chocolate wafer but elevate the ice cream center. I decided to fill mine with malted milk ice cream.

Cook’s Illustrated has a fantastic recipe for the chocolate wafers. The addition of chocolate syrup keeps them super fudgy. All the ingredients are mixed in a bowl and spread into a thin layer on a baking sheet. Once they are baked and cooled, you can cut them into any shape you like.

If you would prefer not to make ice cream, just soften some storebought and spread it out onto a baking sheet. Freeze until solid and then cut into the same shape as the chocolate wafers.

They are delicious as is or you can go deluxe and embellish them with melted chocolate and various toppings. I used chopped Malteasers, mini chocolate chips and Skor bits.