Icecream Cake

To the glorious British summer


There is no better way to end a summer barbie than having something really cold to alleviate the heat from the sun and the barbie grill. I came up with the idea of making an icecream cake when we had our barbecue 2 weeks ago. It had to be a cake because we had a birthday guest. The icecream cake looked okay, but I made 2 serious misjudgments: (1) I thought it would save effort and time in making an icecream cake rather than baking a proper cake. It turned out to be a 4 hour expedition, waiting for each layer to set while trying to be as swift as possible (as we all know we can't mess with icecream too much or else it will melt). (2) I put digestive biscuit layers in between the icecream layers. The result was a rock-hard-impossible-to-cut icecream cake. In the end, we had to set it aside to let it warm up a little bit and got Y's father to use a Chinese cleaver to forcibly chop it up. Imagine this elegant looking cake being chopped up by a Chinese cleaver! What a brutal crossover! So the following recipe is adapted and the only digestive layer will be the base and this should also considerably shorten the preparation time.

Ingredients:

1. a tub (500ml) Strawberry icecream
2. a tub (500ml) Chocolate icecream
3. 2 tubs (500ml) Vanilla icecream
4. 120g digestive biscuits
5. 50g melted butter

Method:

• Line a 8' inch springform tin with clingfilm. Cover both the base and the sides.
• Put the biscuits into a plastic bag, tie a knot and use a rolling pin to bash up the biscuits until they resemble fine dust. Combine the dust with melted butter thoroughly and put the mixture onto the base of the tin. Use a spoon or the palm of your hand to press it down to form a base and put it in the fridge to set for 1 hour.
• Then take out a tub of chocolate icecream and cut out big pieces of icecream to put onto the base. Use a spoon or your fingers to squidge small pieces of icecream to fill the gaps and make sure an even layer is formed. Quickly put it back to the freezer to set for 1 hour.
• Do the second layer by putting strawberry icecream on top of the chocolate icecream layer, making sure this layer is more or less as thick as the chocolate icecream layer. Again, put it back to the freezer to set.
• Do the third layer by putting vanilla icecream. Again, set for 1 hour.
• Release the springform tin and take away the base of the tin by sliding the cake on one plate. Carefully place another plate on top of the cake and turn the cake upside down so that you can remove the clingfilm. Then, place the card board (or your serving plate) on the top and turn the cake upside around again. By now, the cake should be sitting happily on its own bottom. If it is starting to melt, put it back to the freezer for about 15 minutes.
• Finally, cut thick strips from the vanilla icecream to cover the sides and the top as if you were icing the cake. Use a palette knife to smooth the surface and put it back to the fridge to set for 3 hours.
• 15 minutes before serving, put the icecream cake in the fridge for 15 mins to soften a little. Slice the cake with a knife that has just been run over hot water.

Chocolate Fondant

I am not a chocolate person and I have always felt that I am the only person on this planet who doubt the theraputic effects of chocolate. Until now that is. This beautiful, rich and very chocolatey pudding has managed to bring some warmth to this gloomy day. Since this one is an effective remedy to nearly all kinds of gloominess, I suggest (and this is what I have done here) making some to be put into the freezer, so that this chocolate fondant can come to your rescue in 12 minutes...

Makes 6 7cm diameter(120ml) round ramekins

Ingredients:

1. 100g dark choclate (again, Valrhona is the best for the job), roughly chopped
2. 100g butter, roughly diced
3. 60g caster sugar
4. 2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
5. 50g plain flour
6. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7. 20g butter, melted, for brushing
8. cocoa powder, for coating
9. icing sugar, for dusting

Method:

• Prepare the ramekins by brushing melted butter all over the inside of the ramekins. Then add some cocoa powder into a ramekin and swirl the ramekin so that the cocoa coats the inside of the ramekin. Tap off excess cocoa. Repeat until all ramekins are coated with cocoa (Note: I used Gu dessert glass ramekins - 7cm in diameter and can hold 120ml of liquid. You can use ramekins of other sizes, but the cooking time has to be adjusted.)
• Put inside a bowl the chocolate pieces and the diced butter and place it over a pan of simmering water, make sure the water is not touching the base of the bowl. Remove the bowl once the butter and chocolate are fully melted. Take out and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.
• While the chocolate and butter is melting, place sugar, eggs, yolks and vanilla extract in a large bowl and use an electric whisk (on a high speed) to whisk until the mixture has doubled in volume and leaves a trail like a piece of ribbon.
• Use one hand to pour the chocolate and butter mixture slowly while using the other hand (with a spatula) to fold in the mixture carefully. Sift flour over the mixture and fold again until fully combined. The mixture should resemble a loose cake batter.
• Divide the mixture between the 6 ramekins (about 80% full). Bake in a preheated oven of 200c for 9-10 minutes.
• If you are freezing them, cover each with clingfilm and keep in the freezer. When you need them, pre-heat the oven to 200c for 10 minutes and bake for 12 minutes.
• The puddings should have risen but without any cracks (cracks indicate over-baking and there will be no melting chocolate centre). Leave to cool for 1 minute. Slid a palette knife or a skewer around the edges so that the fondant can be turn out easily. Serve immediately with vanilla icecream.