Baking

Mini Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream Layer Cakes

In Sharon Gosling's new novel, The House Beneath the Cliffs, jaded chef Anna moves to a tiny village on the coast of Scotland, where local produce slowly rekindles her love of cooking. This is one of the delicious recipes developed from the novel - an ice cream layer cake! Scottish raspberries make wonderful desserts, and this chilled twist on a classic layer cake makes the most of their summer sweetness.

20 minutes, plus 30 minutes for freezing prep, 10 minutes cook

Serves 7

Ingredients

For the sponge:

250g caster sugar

250g softened butter

5 free-range eggs

1tsp vanilla essence

1tsp baking powder

3 tbsp good-quality raspberry jam

For the ice cream topping:

300ml double cream

150ml condensed milk

1tsp vanilla essence

3 tbsp good-quality raspberry jam

To decorate (optional):

Fresh raspberries

Edible flowers

Method

Preheat the oven to 200℃/ Fan 180℃/ Gas 6.

To make the sponges, cream the sugar and butter until pale and fluffy. Sift the baking powder into the flour. Add the eggs one at a time along with a spoonful of flour to stop the mixture curdling, then fold in the vanilla essence and raspberry jam. Spread into three lined swiss roll tins (or you can use whatever tins you have, spreading the mixture to a depth of about 1cm).

Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until a metal skewer inserted into the centre of each comes out clean. Leave to cool and then turn out onto wire racks.

To make the ice cream, use an electric mixer to whip the cream, condensed milk and vanilla essence until thick, then fold in the raspberry jam (don’t over mix, or you’ll lose the ripple!)

To construct the cakes, cut out as many circles as you can using a small chef’s ring or biscuit cutter. My cakes have three layers – if your discs of cake seem too thick, you can always split them in half. Spread ice cream topping between each of the three layers, and then use a small spatula to cover and smooth off the top and sides.

Put the cakes in a box in the freezer for half an hour to allow the ice cream to chill and set. If you leave them in for longer, take them out at least half an hour before serving so that the sponge has a chance to soften. Any leftover topping can be put into another tub and frozen as ice cream, with no need to stir.

Before serving, top with fresh raspberries and edible flowers.

TIP 1: There’s no need to waste any sponge left from cutting out your layers. Instead, crumble it and blend to a thick paste with a little of your leftover ice cream mix. Roll into walnut-sized balls and chill or freeze until needed. Then melt some white chocolate and drizzle over for instant ‘cake-pop’ deliciousness!

TIP 2: If you want to have extra ice cream to enjoy, double the quantities of cream and jam and use a whole can of condensed milk.