Layered ice cream cake

This is a festive dessert that will have everyone thinking you spent hours in the kitchen and yet, it’s quite easy to make. The video shows a one layer cake, but we give you the recipe below to make a 2 layer version.

This ice cream cake can be made well in advance, as it can remain frozen for a week or more. Prepare your favourite double-layer cake recipe batter and bake two-thirds in a 24 cm AMC Baking tin and the rest in a 16 cm AMC Baking tin. Once cooled, the cake is used in between layers of vanilla ice cream, zooped-up with your favourite festive ingredients. Then: freeze, turn out, garnish and enjoy!

1. Use the base of each baking tin as a big cookie cutter and place on top of the corresponding size baked cake. Trim a thin layer off the sides of each cake, with a small serrated knife, so that it will easily fit into the baking tin again, without leaving too much space between the cake and the side of the tin. 
2. Now cut each cake horizontally in half, in two even layers. The AMC Edge Bread knife’s long serrated blade is perfect for this step. 
3. Once the cakes are trimmed, pick the best-looking layer for the base of your ice cream cake as it will be on top, once turned out. Place this cake layer back into each of the baking tins.
4. Nut filling: spoon ice cream into a chilled AMC Dome, stir gently to soften a bit. Carefully mix macadamia nuts into ice cream. 
5. Drizzle 125 - 150 ml of the strawberry pulp over ice cream and gently swirl into the ice cream with a spoon or skewer, just to create a marble effect – don’t mix it in completely. 
6. Spread half of this ice cream mixture onto the 16 cm cake base. Sprinkle ginger biscuits in an even layer on top, spreading it right to the edges as it will be visible once the cake is turned out. 
7. Spoon the rest of the ice cream mixture on top and cover with the second cake layer. Cover the cake with cling wrap and freeze overnight. 
8. Chocolate filling: spoon ice cream into a chilled AMC Dome, stir to soften slightly. Add chocolate and dried fruit and mix through quickly, so that the ice cream doesn’t melt too much. 
9. Spoon half of this mixture onto the 24 cm cake layer and spread evenly. Top with ginger biscuits and spread the rest of the ice cream on top. Finish off with a cake layer. Cover the cake with cling wrap and freeze overnight.
10. To turn out the ice cream cakes: dip a butter or palette knife into hot water to heat slightly. Wipe with a clean cloth and run it between the cake and inside of each baking tin, to loosen the cake, without melting the ice cream. 
11. Turn the 24 cm cake onto a large well-chilled serving plate and wipe cake tin with a warm cloth until cake turns out. Repeat with the smaller cake, then place on top.
12. Garnish with fresh berries, edible flowers and chocolate. Serve immediately with any remaining strawberry pulp as a sauce. Use an AMC Edge Chef’s knife to cut through the frozen layers to serve. 

• Chilling the AMC Domes in the freezer beforehand helps to prevent the ice cream from melting too quickly. Keep the ice cream frozen until you are ready to add the flavouring elements and build the layers one by one. 
• Place ginger biscuits in a strong plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin or pulse them in a food processor to small chunks. 
• Use your choice of nuts, dried or even glacé fruit in the ice cream filling. Just remember that fresh berries freeze very hard and can become difficult to eat. Ingredients like toffee or nougat are also too hard once frozen.
• Be creative and make a chocolate, banana or lemon poppy seed cake as the base. 
• Chocolate ‘brush-strokes’: Spoon melted dark chocolate onto baking paper and with the back of the spoon or silicone spatula, spread the melted chocolate to the one side in a brush-like motion. Allow to set and handle carefully once removed from the paper.
• Instead of making chocolate brush-strokes, melted dark chocolate can be drizzled over the top of the cake as garnish. Alternatively, grate or shave dark chocolate on top.

Cake recipe from Heleen Meyer,  Make five, filled with seasoned ice cream
Photograph by Adel Ferreira
Website: www.heleenmeyer.co.za