Festive fancies with chef Shane Smith

When people see ice cream in the title of a recipe, they automatically think there’s too much work or equipment involved. I’m here to throw the rule book out the window. All you need is a mixing bowl, whisk, a bread tin, a handful of ingredients and the patience for it to freeze overnight.

This Christmas pudding ice cream terrine is one of the easiest recipes you’ll make this festive season. Not only is it scrumptious, but it can be made well ahead of the big day, freeing you up to baste the bird.

Then you have a Black Forest Gateau like you’ve never seen before. I think this trifle speaks for itself - it’s an absolute showstopper. If you plan to serve this for Christmas dinner or New Years celebrations, it will turn all the heads at the table.

Christmas pudding ice cream terrine

Serves eight

Prep: 25 mins: Freeze overnight

For the pudding terrine:

To garnish:

1 Line a 2lb loaf tin with a double layer of cling film allowing some to hang over the sides. Wash the glace cherries in warm water, pat dry and cut each one in half. Set aside.

2 Whisk the cream in a large bowl until thick. Add the condensed milk and re-whisk until thick.

3 To this, add the diced Christmas pudding, glace cherries and chopped pistachios. Fold everything together until well-combined.

4 Spoon this mix into the lined tin and fold over the excess cling film to cover. Pop into the freezer overnight to firm up.

5 To serve, remove from the tin and then the clingfilm. Place on your serving dish and top the terrine with some cranberries and mint before serving.

*Tip: Place your serving dish into the freezer 10 minutes before needed. This will stop the terrine from melting too quickly.

Black Forest Gateau Trifle

Serves 10 (using a 3L trifle dish)

Prep: 30 mins Bake: 35 mins Chill: 4 hours

For the chocolate fudge sponge:

For the chocolate custard:

For the cherry compote:

To assemble:

1 For the sponges, grease and line 2 x 8” round tins with parchment. Preheat your oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan.

2 Place all the sponge ingredients, apart from the coffee and water, into a bowl and, using a stand or hand mixer, mix until smooth.

3 Dissolve the coffee in the hot water and add this to the sponge mixture. Mix to combine. Divide the batter between the two tins and bake for 30-35 minutes.

4 Remove and set aside to cool. Once cold, cut into large bite-sized squares.

5 For the custard, place the milk and cream into a saucepan and heat gently. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cocoa and cornflour.

6 Add the warm milk and cream to this and whisk to combine. Return this mixture to the saucepan and cook over a gentle heat, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens.

7 Pour this into a large bowl with a layer of cling film placed directly on top to stop a skin forming and chill for a minimum of four hours, preferably overnight.

8 To make the cherry compote, drain the tinned cherries and place the liquid in a pan with the sugar. Bring this cherry liquid to the boil and add the dissolved cornflour and whisk over the heat to thicken.

9 Once thick, remove from the heat and add the cherries back into this thickened sauce. Set aside to cool.

10 To assemble, into your 3L trifle dish, spoon in half the custard, top with half the diced sponge. Add 1/3 of the semi whipped cream and top with half the cherries.

11 Repeat these steps to fill the dish, finishing with a layer of cream on top. Garnish with grated chocolate and fresh cherries.

*Tip: The sponge can be made in advance and frozen and the cherry mixture and chocolate custard can be made three days in advance, so all you need to do is assemble and serve.

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