Christmas Ice Cream Cake

A traditional Christmas cake base topped with an ice cream layer and finished off with melted chocolate, a generous drizzle of caramel and other treats... YUM!

Ingredients:

Cake layer:

500g Food Lover's Market Luxury Festive Cake mix
125ml sherry, brandy or rum or brewed tea, plus extra for feeding
Zest and juice of 2 oranges & 1 lemon
125g unsalted butter
125g light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
100g flour
1 tsp mixed spice
50g whole or flaked nuts of your choice (optional)

Ice cream layer:

1 litre vanilla ice cream
2 cups Food Lover's Market Luxury
Festive cake mix
Rum/sherry/brandy/tea for soaking

Toppings:

cup pecan nuts
slab milk chocolate, melted
tin caramel treat, melted
1 cup crushed chocolate

Making the cake layer:

1. Place your Food Lover's Market Festive Fruit Mix into a large bowl with your choice of alcohol or tea, citrus zest and juice. Mix well, cover and leave to soak overnight.

2. Heat oven to 160C. Butter and double-line a cake tin with baking paper

3. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy, then beat in the eggs one by one.

4. Tip in the flour, mixed spice, soaked dried fruit and any liquid from the bowl, plus your chosen nuts, if using.

5. Stir everything together, then scrape into the cake tin. Using the back of your spoon, make a slight dent in the centre of the mixture, then bake for 1 hour.

6. Reduce oven to 140C, loosely cover the top of the cake with a double sheet of foil or baking parchment, and bake for another 30 mins or until a skewer poked right to the bottom comes out clean.

7. Cool in the tin, then lift out and wrap in baking paper. Keep in a cake tin with a tight- fitting lid, or wrapped in a large sheet of foil, in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months. Open the cake every week or two to feed by poking with a skewer in several places and dribbling over a little more of your chosen alcohol or tea.

Making the ice cream layer:

1. Soak the festive fruit mix overnight in enough rum/sherry/brandy/tea to completely cover the mix.

2. Let the ice cream soften slightly before mixing in the 2 cups of soaked festive fruit mix

3. Line the same sized round cake tin with plastic wrap before pressing the ice cream into the cake tin.

4. Pop into the freezer for at least an hour.

Assembly:

1. Ensure the cake layer is completely cooled.

2. Place on a plate and top with the ice cream layer.

3. Drizzle with melted chocolate and caramel and crumble with nuts and chocolate chunks.

4. Serve immediately and ENJOY!