Recipe

Summer pavlova ice cream torte

Be the star of the show this Christmas with this dazzling dessert idea. Our summer pavlova ice cream torte (which graced the cover of Food magazine's 2019 Christmas issue) is sure to make this year's feast memorable!

Dec 15, 2019 1:00pm
By Sophie Gray
  • 45 mins preparation + chilling (start 1 day ahead)
  • Serves 10
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For more ideas like this, check out our collection of 16 gorgeous Christmas desserts (that aren't pavlova)!

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Ingredients

  • 85 g packet raspberry jelly crystals
  • 250 g packet chocolate or red velvet sandwich biscuits
  • 90 g butter, melted
  • 2 litres store-bought vanilla ice cream
  • 3 egg whites, at room temperature
  • 175 g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • Red gel food colouring
  • 200 ml cream, whipped
  • Fresh berries and edible decorations, to serve (optional)
Berry purée
  • 500 g frozen raspberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice

Method

  • 1
    To make the Berry purée, place frozen berries, sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan and heat gently. When sugar has dissolved, bring to a simmer; simmer for 3-4 minutes, until fruit is broken down. Pulse in a blender then rub through a sieve to remove seeds. Cool in fridge.
  • 2
    Place jelly crystals in a bowl. Pour over 1 cup boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add ½ cup Berry purée and sufficient boiling water to make 500ml. Place in fridge to cool.
  • 3
    Turn the freezer to its coldest setting. Line the base and sides of a 20cm springform pan, with the paper extending 1-2cm above the sides. Pulse biscuits to crumbs. Mix in melted butter and press into base. Chill in freezer.
  • 4
    When jelly is cool but not set, pour onto base and freeze until firm.
  • 5
    Scoop 2 cups of ice cream into a bowl and leave to soften. Stir 1 cup of Berry purée into softened ice cream, pour onto jelly, level top and freeze 2-3 hours, until firm. When firm, repeat with 2 cups vanilla ice cream with 2 tablespoons of Berry purée rippled through it. Freeze until firm. For the final layer, repeat with 2 cups of vanilla ice cream; smooth the top. Freeze, storing in freezer until required.
  • 6
    Preheat oven to 140°C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
  • 7
    Whip egg whites to soft peaks. Beat in the sugar, a spoonful at a time, until completely dissolved. Fold in vanilla.
  • 8
    Place a plain 1½ inch nozzle in a piping bag and stand it in a tall glass or jug. Using a skewer, place a couple of lines of red colouring inside the nozzle and piping bag. Fill with three quarters of the meringue. Pipe into even-sized swirls on the trays. Clean the piping bag and nozzle, then using a smaller nozzle, pipe mini meringue 'kisses' using food colouring.
  • 9
    Place in the oven and reduce temperature to 110°C. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven; leave to cool completely.
  • 10
    To serve, join large swirled meringues together with whipped cream. Remove cake from tin and slip onto a serving plate. Pile top with filled meringues, using mini kisses to support the larger ones and fill gaps. Decorate with berries, decorations and extra Berry purée, if desired (see Tips). Serve using a hot knife.

Notes

Omit the jelly layer to make this vegetarian friendly, and use gluten-free biscuits in the base to make it gluten-free. Increase Berry purée ingredients by half if you'd like extra for drizzling. We made the snowflake decorations from ready-made white icing and a snowflake fondant cutter. The cake will keep, covered, in the freezer for 1 week. Unfilled meringues can be stored for several days in an airtight container.

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