Cherry Bakewell ice-cream cake

You can use fresh cherries in the ice cream if you prefer – just be sure to weigh them after pitting.

Hands-on time 40min, plus chilling and (overnight) freezing. Cooking time about 30min. Serves 8

FOR THE SPONGE • 125g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease • 125g caster sugar • 2 medium eggs • 75g self-raising flour • 50g ground almonds FOR THE ICE CREAM • 1 litre Carte D’OR Vanilla ice cream • 200g frozen cherries • 1tbsp caster sugar FOR THE TOPPING • 75g white chocolate, roughly chopped TO DECORATE, OPTIONAL • Milk and white chocolate curls • Toasted flaked almonds

Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease and line a 23cm square baking tin with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar using a stand mixer with paddle attachment (or handheld electric whisk), until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Fold in the flour and ground almonds. Spoon into the tin and level with a spatula. Bake for 25min, until golden brown. Leave to cool completely in the tin.

2 Grease and line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment. Decant ½ the ice cream into a bowl and leave to soften (keep the remaining ice cream in the freezer). Once fairly soft, pour into the prepared tin and smooth with a spatula. Freeze for 4hr, or until set.

3 Once the vanilla layer is firm, heat the cherries, sugar and 1tbsp water in a pan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Turn up heat and bubble for 10min, until the cherries start to break down and any liquid is thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and leave to cool.

4 Take the remaining ice cream out of the freezer and leave to soften in a large bowl. Fold through the cooled cherries, pour over the frozen vanilla layer and smooth with a spatula. Freeze for 30min, to firm up a little. Trim the cake to same size as the loaf tin. Carefully place the cake on top of the ice cream. Cover the tin with clingfilm and freeze for at least 4hr, or overnight, until frozen solid.

5 To serve, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of just simmering water. Invert frozen cake to a cake stand or board. Pour chocolate over the top, quickly smoothing with a palette knife. Sprinkle over chocolate curls and flaked almonds, if using.