Ice Cream Cakes and Frozen Bakes
Cooking Skills: Ice Cream 2
Chapter 4 · Ice Cream Cakes and Frozen Bakes
Skill goal
Build four layered frozen desserts, unmould them cleanly and seal a baked Alaska with a cooked meringue.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Ice cream cakes are layered frozen desserts: biscuit or sponge, ice cream, sauce and sometimes meringue, built in a tin and frozen. The skills are building in layers, freezing hard between them, and unmoulding cleanly. The ice cream itself comes from Cooking Skills: Ice Cream 1.
The rules
- Line the tin with cling film so the cake lifts out.
- Soften the ice cream for 10 to 15 minutes, spread it quickly and put it back in the freezer. Work in small batches so it doesn't melt.
- Freeze between layers (30 to 60 minutes) so they don't blend.
- Chill a crumb base until hard before adding ice cream.
- Slice with a hot, dry knife, wiping it between cuts.
| Dessert | Base | Freeze | Keeps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandwich cake | Biscuits and ice cream | 4 hours | About 2 weeks |
| Biscuit-base cake | Buttery crumbs | 6 hours | About 2 weeks |
| Frozen cheesecake | Crumbs and cream cheese | 6 hours | About 2 weeks |
| Baked Alaska | Sponge, ice cream, meringue | 4 hours then bake | Serve at once |
Softening, unmoulding, hot oven and keeping
Softening ice cream: stand it out of the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes until it is spreadable but not melted, and use it straight away. Don't refreeze ice cream that has melted completely, and keep the rest in the freezer.Unmoulding frozen desserts: run a thin knife round the edge, then hold the outside of the tin in a bowl of hot water or wrap a hot, wrung-out cloth round it for 10 to 15 seconds. Don't use boiling water or a naked flame, and keep your fingers away from the knife blade.
Hot oven: use oven gloves, open the door away from your face, and don't leave the oven unattended while the meringue browns: it goes from golden to burnt in under a minute. Don't use a cracked or very cold glass dish in a hot oven.
Keeping: ice cream cakes and frozen cheesecake keep well wrapped at -18°C for up to about 2 weeks (general guidance). Slice with a hot knife and put the rest back at once. Don't refreeze what has melted. Baked Alaska is best served within minutes of baking and cannot be stored.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Ice cream sandwich cake
The easiest ice cream cake: layers of biscuit and two flavours of softened ice cream in a loaf tin, frozen until firm. Build it a layer at a time, and press down gently.
Ingredients (8 portions)
- 12 plain or chocolate sandwich biscuits or thin wafers
- 750 ml ice cream (two flavours, softened)
- 100 ml chocolate sauce (optional)
- 1 900 g loaf tin, lined with cling film
- Line the tin with two sheets of cling film, leaving the ends overhanging. Soften the first flavour (see the box) and spread half in the bottom of the tin.
- Add a layer of biscuits, pressed down gently. Freeze for 30 minutes if the ice cream is soft.
- Add the second flavour and another layer of biscuits, then the rest of the first flavour, drizzling over the chocolate sauce. Smooth the top and cover with film.
- Freeze for at least 4 hours. Lift out by the film, remove it and slice with a hot, dry knife.
Softening ice cream, unmoulding and keeping
Softening ice cream: stand it out of the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes until it is spreadable but not melted, and use it straight away. Don't refreeze ice cream that has melted completely, and keep the rest in the freezer.Unmoulding frozen desserts: run a thin knife round the edge, then hold the outside of the tin in a bowl of hot water or wrap a hot, wrung-out cloth round it for 10 to 15 seconds. Don't use boiling water or a naked flame, and keep your fingers away from the knife blade.
Keeping: ice cream cakes and frozen cheesecake keep well wrapped at -18°C for up to about 2 weeks (general guidance). Slice with a hot knife and put the rest back at once. Don't refreeze what has melted. Baked Alaska is best served within minutes of baking and cannot be stored.
Allergens: ice cream usually contains milk (cream, condensed milk), and often egg, nuts, peanuts, soy (in some chocolate and cookies) and wheat (cookies and cones). Check labels, and never serve a nut-containing ice cream to someone with a nut allergy without telling them. Coconut cream or oat cream can replace dairy cream in some recipes, but the texture changes.
Level 2 · Crumb base
A biscuit-base ice cream cake
A buttery biscuit base under a deep layer of ice cream, topped with sauce. Chill the base until it is hard before adding the ice cream, or it will turn soft.
Ingredients (10 portions)
- 200 g digestive biscuits, crushed
- 90 g butter, melted
- 1 litre ice cream (a favourite flavour), softened
- 150 ml chocolate or caramel sauce, chilled
- 1 20 cm springform tin, lined
- Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and press firmly into the base of the lined springform tin. Chill for 30 minutes until hard.
- Soften the ice cream for 10 to 15 minutes and spread evenly over the base, smoothing the top. Freeze for 1 hour.
- Spread the chilled sauce over the top. Cover and freeze for at least 6 hours.
- To unmould, run a knife round the edge, warm the outside of the tin with a hot cloth for 10 seconds and release the clip.
Softening, springform tin and keeping
Softening ice cream: stand it out of the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes until it is spreadable but not melted, and use it straight away. Don't refreeze ice cream that has melted completely, and keep the rest in the freezer.Springform tins: line the base and sides, and run a hot knife round the edge before unclipping. Don't force the clip: a warm cloth round the tin loosens it.
Unmoulding frozen desserts: run a thin knife round the edge, then hold the outside of the tin in a bowl of hot water or wrap a hot, wrung-out cloth round it for 10 to 15 seconds. Don't use boiling water or a naked flame, and keep your fingers away from the knife blade.
Keeping: ice cream cakes and frozen cheesecake keep well wrapped at -18°C for up to about 2 weeks (general guidance). Slice with a hot knife and put the rest back at once. Don't refreeze what has melted. Baked Alaska is best served within minutes of baking and cannot be stored.
Level 2 · Cheesecake
Frozen berry cheesecake
A no-bake cheesecake you freeze instead of chilling. It is richer and denser than ice cream and slices well. Beat the cream cheese smooth before folding in the cream.
Ingredients (8 portions)
- 150 g digestive biscuits, crushed
- 70 g butter, melted
- 300 g full-fat cream cheese
- 150 g sweetened condensed milk
- 250 ml double cream, whipped to soft peaks
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 200 g berries, simmered with 1 tbsp sugar for 5 minutes and cooled
- Mix the crushed biscuits and butter, press into a lined 20 cm tin and chill for 30 minutes.
- Beat the cream cheese, condensed milk and lemon juice until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream gently.
- Pour onto the base, then spoon over the cooled berry sauce and ripple once with a knife. Cover and freeze for at least 6 hours.
- Stand for 10 minutes before slicing with a hot knife.
Cream cheese, hot fruit, unmoulding and keeping
Cream cheese: use full-fat cream cheese straight from the fridge for a firm set. Check the label for allergens (milk) and check any added ingredients.Hot sugar syrup and custard: sugar syrup is much hotter than boiling water and sticks to skin, so keep the pan handle turned in and don't touch it. Don't let anything boil over, and keep children away from the hob.
Unmoulding frozen desserts: run a thin knife round the edge, then hold the outside of the tin in a bowl of hot water or wrap a hot, wrung-out cloth round it for 10 to 15 seconds. Don't use boiling water or a naked flame, and keep your fingers away from the knife blade.
Keeping: ice cream cakes and frozen cheesecake keep well wrapped at -18°C for up to about 2 weeks (general guidance). Slice with a hot knife and put the rest back at once. Don't refreeze what has melted. Baked Alaska is best served within minutes of baking and cannot be stored.
Level 3 · Baked
Baked Alaska
Ice cream under a hot oven: the meringue is a thick insulator and browns in minutes, so the ice cream stays frozen. The meringue must cover every gap, and the ice cream must be frozen rock hard. Make the meringue from cooked whites.
Ingredients (6 portions)
- 1 thin sponge or plain cake base, about 18 cm across
- 500 ml firm ice cream, frozen hard (for example vanilla, or vanilla and raspberry)
- 4 Lion-marked egg whites
- 200 g caster sugar
- 1 heatproof plate or baking tray lined with parchment
- Shape the ice cream into a dome slightly smaller than the sponge, using a lined bowl. Freeze solid for at least 4 hours. Put the sponge on the plate and the frozen ice cream on top, then return to the freezer.
- Make a cooked meringue from the whites and sugar (see the box) and whisk until stiff and glossy.
- Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Take the dessert from the freezer and cover completely with meringue, right down to the plate, with no gaps. Make swirls with a spoon.
- Bake for 3 to 4 minutes, until the peaks are golden. Serve at once, slicing with a hot knife.
Cooked meringue, hot oven and serving
Cooked meringue: raw egg white is not used. Whisk the whites and sugar in a clean heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water (the bowl must not touch the water) until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture reaches about 71°C on a thermometer (general guidance), then whisk off the heat until stiff and cool. Use Lion-marked eggs, a spotlessly clean bowl, and keep steam and hot water away from your hands. Check current FSA advice if serving to pregnant women or other vulnerable people.Hot oven: use oven gloves, open the door away from your face, and don't leave the oven unattended while the meringue browns: it goes from golden to burnt in under a minute. Don't use a cracked or very cold glass dish in a hot oven.
Keeping: ice cream cakes and frozen cheesecake keep well wrapped at -18°C for up to about 2 weeks (general guidance). Slice with a hot knife and put the rest back at once. Don't refreeze what has melted. Baked Alaska is best served within minutes of baking and cannot be stored.
Experiments
Experiment
Layer freezing time
Freeze between layers or not.
- Build two small layered cakes, freezing each layer for 30 minutes in one and building the other in one go.
Look for: The layered cake has clean stripes; the other blends into a marbled mess. Freezing between layers keeps them neat.
Experiment
Base crispness
More or less butter.
- Press crumb bases with 50 g, 90 g and 120 g of butter per 200 g of biscuits, chill and add ice cream.
Look for: Too little butter crumbles; too much goes greasy and hard. About 90 g to 200 g holds and stays crisp.
Experiment
Unmoulding
Warm or cold.
- Unmould one cake by warming the tin with a hot cloth for 10 seconds, and try to lift another straight from the freezer.
Look for: The warmed one slides out cleanly. The cold one sticks and tears. A short warming makes all the difference.
Experiment
Meringue sealing
Full or gappy.
- Cover one small baked Alaska completely with meringue and leave a gap in another. Bake both for 3 minutes.
Look for: The sealed one keeps its ice cream firm. The gappy one leaks melted ice cream from the gap. Cover every part.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandwich cake | ||||
| Biscuit-base cake | ||||
| Frozen cheesecake | ||||
| Baked Alaska | ||||
| Layer freezing | ||||
| Base crispness | ||||
| Unmoulding | ||||
| Meringue sealing |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Layers blend together | Not frozen between layers | Freeze 30 to 60 minutes between layers |
| Soggy base | Base not chilled before the ice cream | Chill the crumbs until hard |
| Stuck in the tin | Not lined or not warmed | Line with film; warm briefly with a hot cloth |
| Melted ice cream in Alaska | Not frozen hard, or meringue gaps | Freeze solid; cover completely |
| Soft cheesecake | Not frozen long enough | Freeze for at least 6 hours |
| Crumbly slices | Cut with a cold knife | Use a hot, dry knife |
Hot oven, cooked meringue and keeping
Hot oven: use oven gloves, open the door away from your face, and don't leave the oven unattended while the meringue browns: it goes from golden to burnt in under a minute. Don't use a cracked or very cold glass dish in a hot oven.Cooked meringue: raw egg white is not used. Whisk the whites and sugar in a clean heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water (the bowl must not touch the water) until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture reaches about 71°C on a thermometer (general guidance), then whisk off the heat until stiff and cool. Use Lion-marked eggs, a spotlessly clean bowl, and keep steam and hot water away from your hands. Check current FSA advice if serving to pregnant women or other vulnerable people.
Unmoulding frozen desserts: run a thin knife round the edge, then hold the outside of the tin in a bowl of hot water or wrap a hot, wrung-out cloth round it for 10 to 15 seconds. Don't use boiling water or a naked flame, and keep your fingers away from the knife blade.
Keeping: ice cream cakes and frozen cheesecake keep well wrapped at -18°C for up to about 2 weeks (general guidance). Slice with a hot knife and put the rest back at once. Don't refreeze what has melted. Baked Alaska is best served within minutes of baking and cannot be stored.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can build a layered frozen dessert and freeze between layers.
- I can make a crisp crumb base.
- I can unmould a frozen cake cleanly.
- I can make a cooked meringue and seal it round ice cream.
- I slice frozen desserts with a hot, dry knife.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Ice Cream 2, chapter 5 is Sauces, Brittle and Toppings: cooking sugar to the right stage.