Name: Fresh strawberry ice cream gâteau
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: Sponge; 1 2/3 cup icing sugar; 1/2 cup flour; 1 cup ground almonds; 5 egg whites; 185 gram butter, melted; Ice cream layers; 1 large chip strawberries or 3 small chips, hulled; 2 litre good-quality vanilla ice cream, softened; Topping; 8 large fresh strawberries, stalks on, halved; strawberry flowers; spangle berries; 4 millilitre gold metallic sugar pearls (i used ones from cakestuff.co.nz)

Fresh strawberry ice cream gâteau

Many strawberry farms around the country now offer fresh fruit ice creams at the farm gate. My kids shriek and demand a detour whenever they see a painted strawberry sign on a hot summer road trip. Please note: this recipe makes a two-tiered cake; to construct the four-tiered cake pictured here, double all the quantities (except for topping) and first make sure it will fit in the freezer. Photographs by Jani Shepherd and styling by Fiona Hugues; Gatherum Collectif.

Strawberry desserts to get the party started

Find the spangle berries recipe here

Ingredients

Sponge

1 2/3 cup icing sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 cup ground almonds

5 egg whites

185 gram butter, melted

Ice cream layers

1 large chip strawberries or 3 small chips, hulled

2 litre good-quality vanilla ice cream, softened

Topping

8 large fresh strawberries, stalks on, halved

strawberry flowers

spangle berries

4 millilitre gold metallic sugar pearls (i used ones from cakestuff.co.nz)

Method

Sponge

1.Preheat oven to 200°C.

2.Grease and line two 23cm springform cake tins. (If you don’t have two tins, just make one cake and cut the sponge into two discs when baked.)

3.In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, ground almonds and a pinch of salt. Add the egg whites and mix until thoroughly blended. Add the melted butter, stirring until evenly combined to make a pourable batter.

4.Spoon into tins. Bake for around 20 minutes (about 30 minutes for single cake) until lightly browned and a skewer comes out clean when inserted. Remove from tins and cool on rack.

Ice cream layers

5.Finely chop or lightly pulse the strawberries in a food processor.

6.Place the softened ice cream in a large bowl, add the strawberry pulp and fold to combine (try not to over-mix as you want a ripple effect).

7.Place a layer of sponge into the bottom of your tin. Spoon half (or a quarter, if making four tiers) of the ice cream on top of the sponge and smooth with the back of your spoon. Repeat layers.

8.Smooth top with a spatula and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Freeze overnight.