Ice cream & berry terrine

In summer, it’s fabulous to have a dessert, but definitely not a warm one. I love to serve this frozen terrine, as it always looks so impressive. The combination of the vanilla cake, creamy ice cream, toasted macadamia nuts, berries and chocolate is popular with everyone.

This Ice cream & berry terrine is easy to make, so don’t be put off by the amount of steps in the recipe – it’s just detailed to help guide you in the process.

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Recipe adapted from Make five/Maak vyf
Serves 10–12

Butter cake

300 ml (300 g) soft butter

350 ml castor sugar

6 large eggs

200 ml milk

10 ml (2 tsp) vanilla essence

750 ml (3 cups) self-raising flour (see tips)

Terrine

2 litres vanilla ice cream

100-150 g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

300 g strawberries or other berries of your choice

125 ml (½ cup) good quality strawberry jam

100-150 g macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped or flaked almonds (see tips)

fresh mint leaves, to decorate

2. Beat butter and sugar together with an electric beater in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat for quite a few minutes to incorporate as much air into the mixture as possible – this results in a better texture.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Beat until smooth.

4. Mix milk and vanilla together. Use a large metal spoon to fold the milk mixture into the butter mixture, alternating with the flour, until a smooth batter forms. Take care not to stir too much.

5. Divide the batter equally between the tins and gently even it out on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

6. Allow to cool down in the tins for a few minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.

7. Terrine: Line bread or cake tins with plastic wrap, allowing extra wrap to hang over the edges. Cut the cake lengthwise into long slices.

8. Place a slice of cake in the bottom of each tin. Press in tightly, this will form the top layer of the terrine.

9. Allow the ice cream to soften slightly. Place two-thirds of the chocolate in a glass bowl and melt over a saucepan of gently simmering water.

10. Cut two-thirds of the strawberries into small wedges. Stir them into the softened ice cream with the jam and two-thirds of the nuts. Work quickly so the ice cream doesn’t melt too far. Stir gently to distribute the ingredients evenly through the ice cream.

11. Brush the cake with a thin layer of melted chocolate – a pastry brush works well. Place half of the ice cream on top of the cake and spread over evenly.

12. Add another layer of cake on top and brush with chocolate. Spoon the rest of the ice cream mixture on top. Spread the ice cream evenly on top and finish with a layer of cake.

13. Fold the plastic wrap over to cover tightly and freeze for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.

14. Melt the remaining chocolate to garnish the terrine, just before serving.

15. Turn the cake out onto a cold serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. You can leave it out for a few minutes to help loosen it from the tin.

16. Halve or quarter the rest of the strawberries. Decorate the terrine with strawberries, remaining nuts and mint and drizzle with melted chocolate.

17. Cut the ice cream with a sharp bread knife. Dip the knife in boiling water beforehand – to make cutting easier. Serve immediately.

1. If you don’t have self-raising flour use cake flour and just add baking powder. Add 5 ml (1 tsp) baking powder for every 250 ml (1 cup) cake flour.

2. Roast nuts on a baking tray in the oven, just before or after baking the cake. Keep an eye on them as they burn easily.

3. This terrine is even easier to make with day-old cake.

4. This Butter cake recipe freezes well. Place each cake in a freezer bag, press out all the air and seal airtight. Freeze for up to a month and thaw overnight in the fridge. Use later for another terrine or let it thaw and serve with scoops of ice cream, strawberries, nuts and chocolate. Or use in a trifle.