Strawberry ripple baked alaska

1. To make the strawberry sauce, hull and halve the strawberries and put in a small saucepan with 50g of the sugar and 3 tbsp water. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar then cover with a lid and cook gently for 5 minutes, or until the strawberries are very soft. Press the mixture through a sieve to extract as much juice as possible and return to the saucepan. Blend the cornflour with 1 tbsp water and add to the pan. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes until the sauce is very thick. Pour into a small bowl and leave to cool.

2. Cut the Madeira cake into 1.5cm-thick slices and arrange over the base of an 18cm loose-bottomed cake tin or spring-release tin, cutting the pieces to fit and packing it down firmly with your fingers. Microwave the tub of ice cream for a couple of minutes to soften (or leave at room temperature for about 20 minutes). Spread about a third of the strawberry sauce over the cake with the back of a spoon. Turn the ice cream into a bowl and break it up into scoop-sized pieces. Spoon the rest of the strawberry sauce over the ice cream. Without mixing the sauce into the ice cream, spoon it into the tin and pack it down gently. The ice cream will become rippled with pockets of strawberry sauce. Cover and freeze for at least 3 hours.

3. Put the egg whites in a thoroughly clean bowl. Whisk with an electric whisk until softly peaking. Add a dessertspoonful of the remaining sugar and whisk for 15 seconds. Add another spoonful of the sugar and whisk again. Continue whisking and adding the sugar at intervals until the meringue is stiff and glossy.

4. Loosen the edges of the ice cream with a warm knife and remove from the tin. Place on a baking tray. Using a palette knife, spread the meringue mixture over the top and sides of the ice cream in an even layer. Rough up the surface with the knife and return the pudding to the freezer for at least 1 hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 230°C, gas mark 8. Transfer the dessert to the oven and bake for about 3 minutes until the meringue peaks are turning deep golden. (Watch closely as the meringue will brown very quickly). Transfer to a serving plate, surround with additional strawberries and serve immediately.

Cook’s tip

Have the additional strawberries, serving plate and dishes all prepared before you put the pudding in the oven so it’s ready to serve as soon as possible.