Instructions

1. Choose a suitable bowl – I used a glass bowl approximately 22cm in diameter and 10cm deep. I found this to be the perfect size – you really don’t want to go much bigger than this because the dessert becomes difficult to cut.
2. Layer a few pieces of cling wrap on the inside of the glass bowl – you will use this cling wrap to pull out the ice-cream and cake once it has frozen.
3. Now start adding your ice-cream – I added about 1.5L vanilla ice-cream first, then about 1 litre of chocolate ice-cream. The amount you use may more more or less depending on the size of your bowl. Use an ice-cream scoop to place the ice-cream, then use the back of a spoon (or even your hands over some cling wrap) to press the ice-cream down into the bowl, so that it is compressed and there are no gaps.
4. Leave some space for the sponge cake – you want the top of the glass bowl to be flush (in-line) with the cake. You can either buy a sponge cake and cut pieces to form the base of your cake or you can bake a cake ( just halve the recipe as you don’t need a full-sized layer cake, you just need half the cake, about 3-4cm in thickness).
5. Place the bowl in the freezer and allow to firm up for 3-4 hours.
6. Just before taking the bowl out the freezer, make the meringue. Beat 5 egg whites until fluffy and then slowly add the caster sugar, bit by bit, mixing after each addition until you have added all the sugar. Beat the mixture until it forms stiff “peaks” ie. the meringue should hold its shape.
7. Remove the bowl from the freezer. Get a serving plate ready that is big enough to place the dessert onto. Now using the plastic cling wrap, pull the ice-cream and cake out of the bowl and turn it upside down onto the plate.
8. Peel off the cling wrap. Coat with meringue, making the thickness somewhat thinner on the sides and thicker on top.
9. Now using the back of a spoon, dab the meringue to create interesting textures.
10. Place the dessert back into the freezer for another 2-3 hours.
11. When ready to serve, remove from the freezer and using a mini brulee burner /chef’s blowtorch, brown the curves and textures of the meringue. Don’t put the flame too close otherwise it will burn.
12. If you do not have a blowtorch then you can place the dessert into a a very hot, preheated oven (425 degrees F or 220 degrees C) for just a few minutes—typically 5-10 minutes—until the meringue is golden brown.
13. Allow the dessert to sit for 5 minutes or so before cutting, just to allow the sponge to de-frost slightly.
14. Slice and enjoy! Yum!