Neapolitan traybake

Try this bake for pure nostalgia in cake form. It reminds me of the massive tub of Neapolitan ice cream that used to be at the front of our family freezer when I was growing up. It has the classic vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavours, and is topped off with whipped cream and, of course, a chocolate flake.

SERVES 16 PREP 35 mins COOK 35 mins EASY V

200g unsalted butter, softened, plus

extra for the tin

100g strawberries, hulled and quartered 200g caster sugar

3 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

200g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp milk drop of pink gel food colouring

For the topping

200ml double cream

2 tbsp icing sugar

6 chocolate flakes, cut into thirds

1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter a 20cm square baking tin and line with two criss-crossed, overlapping strips of baking parchment (this will help you

remove the traybake later). Put the strawberries in a food processor or mini chopper and blitz to a purée. Tip into a small saucepan and simmer for 3 mins until slightly reduced. Pour into a bowl and leave to cool.

2 Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl using an electric whisk (or do this in a stand mixer) for 4-5 mins until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Mix in the flour and baking powder.

3 Divide the cake batter between three bowls, weighing for accuracy, if you like. Mix the cocoa and 2 tbsp milk into the first bowl until smooth and combined. Mix the cooled strawberry purée and a drop of pink food colouring into the second bowl, and stir the remaining milk into the last bowl. 4 Drop alternating spoonfuls of the three batters into the prepared tin until all three have been used up (an ice cream scoop is useful for this). Try not to mix the colours

together, but spread each blob out slightly using the back of the spoon. It’s easiest to use three separate spoons to prevent colours mixing, or rinse the spoon before moving to a different coloured batter.

5 Bake for 30-35 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 mins, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cool, will keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Next, make the topping. Whisk the cream and icing sugar together to soft peaks – it should be thick and spreadable. Spoon the topping into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle, if you like. Or, you can spoon on the topping. 6 Cut the cooled sponge into 16 even squares, then pipe or spoon a dollop of the topping over each. Decorate each square with a chocolate flake before serving.

PER SERVING 324 kcals • fat 21g • saturates 13g • carbs 30g •

sugars 20g • fibre 1g • protein 4g • salt 0.3g