Nadiya Hussain’s Blueberry Ice Cream Cake
The addition of fennel seeds and orange zest elevate Nadiya Hussain's blueberry ice cream cake into a complex and flavourful dessert.
From the book
Nadiya’s Fast Flavours
Clever, flavour-focussed recipes from Nadiya Hussain
From midweek meals to celebration centrepieces
Including plenty of Nadiya's signature bakes
Introduction
Now you can have your cake and ice cream, and eat it too! There is no better way than when they are mooshed together. And I forgot to mention, there’s biscuit here too: a coating of crunchy biscuit crumbs around soft Genoise sponge, quick blueberry ice cream and another layer of cake.
Ingredients
| For the cake: | |
|---|---|
| 4 | medium eggs |
| 125g | caster sugar |
| 100g | unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for greasing |
| 100g | plain flour, sifted |
| For the ice cream: | |
| 600ml | double cream |
| 170g | condensed milk |
| 1 tbsp | vanilla bean paste |
| 200g | blueberries |
| 1 | orange, zest only |
| 3 tbsp | icing sugar, sifted (optional) |
| For the biscuit crumb: | |
| 50g | chocolate digestives |
| 2 tsp | whole fennel seeds |
Essential kit
You will need: a 20cm x 8cm deep round loose-bottomed cake tin and a food processor.
Method
Start by making the cake. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C. Grease and line the base of a 20cm x 8cm deep round loose-bottomed cake tin.
Put the eggs and the sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk till the mixture is light and fluffy, so that when the whisk is lifted the mixture leaves a visible trail. This can take about 8 minutes.
Now add the melted butter around the edge of the egg mixture and whisk for a few seconds.
Add the flour and fold through till there are no floury lumps. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes until golden on top and slightly shrunk around the edges.
Once the cake is baked, leave in the tin for 10 minutes before removing to cool on a rack. Peel off the paper.
Wash the same tin, as we need to use the same one to assemble the cake. Grease and line the tin’s base and sides and grease the paper on top too.
Add the fennel seeds to a small pan and toast very gently till golden brown and the oils are released from the seeds. Take off the heat.
Crumble the biscuits and the toasted fennel seeds to a fine crumb in a food processor (or bash in a food bag with the end of a rolling pin).
Make the ice cream by putting the cream in a bowl with the condensed milk and vanilla. Whip till just thick – this will take 5–10 minutes, then fold in the blueberries and orange zest.
Take the cake and cut in half horizontally so you have two rounds.
Take the tin out of the freezer. Lay the first layer of cake into the base. Take your biscuit and fennel crumbs and gently press onto the inside walls of the tin, covering all the way around, till you have used all the crumbs. Add the cream mixture on top.
Add the second layer of cake, cover the top to prevent freezer burn and leave in the freezer overnight or for at least 6 hours.
Remove the cake from the freezer 20 minutes before you plan to serve so that it will easily slice. The cake will keep in the freezer for up to 3 days. It is best eaten as soon as possible because it’s a no-churn ice cream and will develop an ‘icy’ texture after a few days.
Enjoy! I know I will!
Please note: Moderation is enabled and may delay your comment being posted. There is no need to resubmit your comment. By posting a comment you are agreeing to the website Terms of Use.