Ingredients
1 litre good quality vanilla ice cream
1 cup crumbled Christmas cake
¼ cup grated milk or dark cooking chocolate
¼ cup flaked almonds
Method
Line a pudding basin or a one-litre glass bowl with two layers of cling wrap, leaving enough to fold over the base of the ice cream pudding. Place flaked almonds on a tray lined with baking paper, and lightly toast in a pre-heated oven at 180º for about 5 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove from oven and cool.
Scoop ice cream into a bowl and allow to soften a little. Gently stir in the crumbled Christmas cake and grated chocolate (do not over stir).
Spoon the ice cream mixture into the prepared bowl and cover the base with the cling wrap. Freeze for at least six hours, or ideally overnight. Pudding can be made a week or two in advance. When ready to serve, remove from the freezer and let stand for a few minutes. Place bowl in tepid/warm water to help loosen the pudding from the bowl, making sure water doesn’t get onto the ice cream. A rounded dinner knife can also be used to gently loosen the pudding from the bowl. Invert onto a plate, remove cling wrap and sprinkle with toasted almonds and fresh cherries, strawberries or raspberries. Cut into wedges. Store and remaining pudding in the freezer.
For this recipe we used Bakers Delight Christmas cake, which is rich and light, and Weis Vanilla Bean ice cream. Other cakes, such as the Lions Christmas cake would be suitable, as would other ice creams..A small amount of brandy or liquor of choice can be added to the crumbled cake before adding it to the ice cream, if desired. A vegetable peeler is suitable for shaving the chocolate into fine pieces. Serves 6-8.