Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

If you like gingerbread, ice cream and cakes....then you are in a treat!!! Something light as dessert after the heavy xmas dinner. 

There are a few elements in making this cake but they are not difficult elements, just need some time to complete them all. You don't have to make all the elements and can use store bought alternatives.

Ingredients:

Gingerbread cake:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• zest of ½ lemon
• 115g butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup treacle
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

No-Churn Lemon Cream Cheese Ice Cream:

• 2 cups double cream
• 1x395g tin sweetened condensed milk
• 1x250g cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Gingerbread Snowflakes:

• 50g butter
• ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• ½ cup treacle syrup
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2½ cup plain flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• ¾ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp bicarbonate soda
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• royal icing sugar mixture, to decorate

Salted Butterscotch Sauce:

• 60g butter
• 100g dark brown sugar
• 125ml double cream

Method:

Start by making the gingerbread cake as it needs time to cooled completely before you make the no-churn ice cream.

Preheat oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan assist oven. Grease and line 2x8 inch round cake tins with greaseproof paper.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spice mix and lemon zest and then set aside.

Beat butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the treacle and beat to combine. Scrap down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients (in three additions) and the milk (in two additions), alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat on low until just incorporated.

Divide the batter between the two prepared tins and smooth the top with the back of a spoon or spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake coms out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

No-Churn Lemon Cream Cheese Ice Cream: Combine the condensed milk and cream cheese together and beat until combined then set aside. Whip double cream in a mixing bowl until firm peaks form then stir in 3 tablespoons of the condensed milk mixture and stir until combined. Add the remaining condensed milk mixture and fold until just combined.

Place one gingerbread cake into a high sided 20cm cake tins and top with ½ of the ice cream mixture. Top with the second cake and pour the remaining ice cream mixture over the top. Cover with clingfilm  and place the cake in the freezer to set completely (preferably overnight). You can make the recipe up to this point a week before serving.

Gingerbread Snowflakes: In a small pan, place butter, sugar and treacle syrup over a low heat stirring until butter has melted and sugar has dissolved. Pour into a large bowl and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Add egg and vanilla extract to butter mixture, stirring to combine. Sift flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking powder, bicarbonate soda and salt over the butter mixture and mix to form a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Shape into a disc, wrap with clingfilm and allow to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 160ºC for fan assist oven. Line baking tray with baking paper. Divide the dough into two and cover one with cling film. Roll first batch of the dough between two sheets of baking paper to about 5mm thickness. Cut various snowflake shaped cookies using cookies cutters. Bake for 5-6 minutes for smaller cookies and 8-10 minutes for larger cookies. Allow to cool on trays for 5 minutes or longer for larger cookies to harden before transferring to  a wire rack to cool completely. 

Once cooled, prepare royal icing as instructions on the package. Then transfer to a piping bag with a vert fine writing nozzle and decorate the cookies. Set aside to set and harden completely then store in an airtight container.

Salted Butterscotch Sauce: To make the sauce, heat a medium heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add butter and when melted, add sugar and cream, whisking until well combined. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then cook for 5 minutes, whisking regularly. After 5 minutes remove from the heat and set aside at room temperature to cool completely. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days and simply warm in the microwave on low heat for 20 seconds to return to a drizzle state before using on the cake. 

Assembly: When ready to serve, transfer the cake from the tin to a cake stand and drizzle the butterscotch sauce over the top. Push decorated gingerbread snowflakes into the top of the ice cream cake and serve. The no-churn ice cream will come out clean of the fridge rock hard so you will have enough time to dress the cake and have the ice cream and gingerbread cake soften to perfect consistency for eating.