Limoncello and raspberry ice-cream charlotte

Ingredients

• 120 g caster sugar
• juice of 2 lemons (reserve the zest of 1)
• 75 ml limoncello, plus 1 tbsp
• vegetable oil, to grease
• 26-28 sponge fingers (you’ll need 1 x 175g pack)
• 150 g white chocolate, chopped
• 2 litres vanilla ice cream (we used Kelly’s)
• 1 x 250g pack raspberries
• 100 g lemon curd
• 1 x 315g pack frozen raspberries
• 25 g icing sugar
• zest of 1 lemon (from above)
• 1 x 250g pack raspberries
• handful mint leaves
• icing sugar, to dust

Instructions

1. 1

   Put the caster sugar in a small pan with the lemon juice. Heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for 3-4 minutes, until syrupy. Pour into a shallow dish, add the 75ml of limoncello, stir, and leave to cool. Lightly grease a 20cm diameter loose-based cake tin and line with clingfilm. Make space in the freezer.

2. 2

   In batches, dip the sponge fingers into the cooled lemon syrup, turning them until well coated and starting to soften (about 60-90 seconds on each side). Trim a few millimetres off one end of each soaked sponge finger, then arrange them upright and tightly packed around the inside edge of the tin, with the cut ends flat against the base. Freeze for 30 minutes.

3. 3

   Meanwhile, put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of gently simmering water (make sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water). Leave to gently melt. Remove the tin from the freezer, then brush the sponge fingers most of the way up with the white chocolate to create a barrier. Return the tin temporarily to the freezer.

4. 4

   Remove the ice cream from the freezer to soften (5-10 minutes). Empty the softened ice cream into a large mixing bowl, then beat with a wooden spoon to soften it further and make it easier to incorporate the other ingredients. Working quickly so the ice cream doesn’t melt too much, stir in the fresh raspberries so they ripple through the ice cream. Pack about half the ice-cream mixture into the prepared tin in an even layer. Drizzle over half the lemon curd, then ripple into the ice-cream mixture with a skewer or the tip of a knife. Spoon over the remaining ice cream, level the top and ripple in the remaining lemon curd. Loosely cover and freeze overnight until firm.

5. 5

   For the coulis layer, put the frozen raspberries in a pan with the icing sugar, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of limoncello. Set over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the fruit has started to break down. Once simmering, cook for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Transfer to a blender or food processor and whizz until smooth. Strain into a bowl and leave to cool completely.

6. 6

   Spoon the coulis over the ice-cream cake in a layer and freeze for at least 3 hours.

7. 7

   Release the frozen charlotte from the tin onto a flat serving plate, peeling away the clingfilm. If liked, top with extra raspberries, mint leaves and a dusting of icing sugar. Cut into slices and leave to soften for 10-15 minutes before serving.