Beat the Australian summer heat with this easy Christmas ice cream cake.
This frozen festive dessert combines creamy vanilla ice cream with rich fruit cake, fresh berries and crunchy meringue. It’s perfect for hot December days when traditional pudding feels too heavy, and will become your go-to Aussie Christmas dessert.
Ingredients
Method
Grease a 20cm springform pan; line base and side with baking paper, extending paper 3cm beyond rim.
Cut fruit cake into three slices horizontally. Place a square slice in the centre of the base of the pan. Using remaining slices, trim them to fit the gaps; reserve trimmings. Using your hands, flatten fruit cake to form a level base without gaps. Cut trimmings into small pieces.
Remove ½ cup frozen red berries, cut any strawberries in half. Press strawberries to the side of the pan using some ice-cream as ‘glue’. Place the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Spoon remaining ice-cream into a large bowl; stir in brandy if using, nutmeg, rind and almonds; stir to combine. Spoon one-third of the ice-cream mixture into the pan; scatter with one-third reserved fruit cake, smooth level with a spoon. Repeat with remaining ice-cream mixture and fruit cake. Freeze for 4 hours or overnight until firm.
To serve, transfer Christmas ice cream cake to a serving plate. Layer remaining berries and meringues over the top, crushing some of the meringues in the process.
Can Christmas ice cream cake be made ahead?
Make it the night before Christmas and store it in the freezer for up to three days, giving you more time with family on the big day. Before serving this Christmas dessert, continue recipe from step 5.
