Just a little disclaimer, though, I didn't invent this recipe. I think I was told to make it by my mother, and she possibly got from a Gourmet Traveller or some other kind of food magazine. So, if I'm ripping someone off... Thanks for the awesome dessert recipe? It's delicious!
Now, here are the things you need to make this excellent dessert:
2 loaf pans or bread tins (although I guess you could make a round one if you wanted...)
Baking paper
1 large mixing bowl
A couple of sharp knives and a mixing spoon
A cutting board
A freezer
Now, I've just realised that I never measure any of the ingredients, so here's a vaguely-guessed-at list:
- 2 x 1L Sara Lee French Vanilla Ice Cream
- About 300grams Morello Cherries (buy a jar and use as many as you want) (oh my god, do yourself a favour and get the pitted ones, seriously, pitting is a nightmare)
- About 200grams of fruit mince (I usually get Robertson's, and you need about half a jar)
- A handful or two of dry roasted almonds (sorry, it's useless of me, but I can't remember how big the bag is that I usually buy) (maaaaaybe 200grams? Ish?)
Assemble your ingredients! Keep one of the tubs of Sara Lee ice cream and stick the other one in the freezer. (If you're in Australia, chances are the tub will be appropriately melty by the time you have to use it, but if not, there's always the microwave.)
Chop up your cherries into small-ish chunks, but not too fine. Put them into the mixing bowl with the whole tub of slightly-melted ice cream, and mix together (just with a spoon, not a mixmaster or anything).
Put the tins into the freezer and get out your second tub of Sara Lee. Wash out your mixing bowl - take as long as you want, to give your second lot of ice cream a bit of time to melt, and the ice cream in the tins more time to set in the freezer.
Chop up the dry roasted almonds - again, not too fine, you want them big enough to crunch. You need enough to distribute nicely through your second lot of ice cream. Mix the nuts and ice cream in the mixing bowl, and add some of the fruit mince. (Essentially, you're adding all of this stuff to taste, so put in as much or as little as you like.)
Get the tins out of the freezer, and pour the nuts-fruit-mince-ice-cream mixture in on top of the cherry mixture, to make a second layer.
Put everything back in the freezer, and tidy up!
You'll probably be making this well before your meal, but just so you know, you need to give the ice cream at least an hour to set properly. If you're leaving it in the freezer over night, make sure to cover it or seal off the tins somehow.
When you're ready for dessert, up-end the tins onto a serving dish and pull off the baking paper. Don't scoop - serve in slices, to make sure everyone gets both flavours. Enjoy!
