FUNFETTI SPECKLED EGG ICE-CREAM CAKE

It’s almost Easter time and for fun, Royal Baking Powder challenged me and the wonderful Katelyn from The Kate Tin to each come up with an Easter themed recipe. So what we decided to do is send one another a simple recipe for something that we like to make and then get the other person to ‘Easter-fy’ it up.

I sent Katlyn one of my favourite recipes for flapjacks, which she then used to make delicious Hot Cross Bun flapjacks with that look amazing! I actually can’t wait to try them!

She, in turn, sent me her recipe for an awesome Funfetti cake that I decided to jazz up into a Funfetti Speckled Egg Ice-Cream Cake! I’m talking creamy homemade speckled egg ice-cream sandwiched between two layers of vanilla Funfetti sponge, topped with whipped cream and sprinkle magic!

The no-churn-ice-cream I made was simple and a great base to add whatever flavour your heart fancies. When I was making the mixture, which by the way is made up of whipped cream and condensed milk (drool), I had to stop myself from ‘taste-testing it’ every 20 seconds. It’s like liquid gold and I actually can’t wait to play around with a few variations of it.

Kate’s recipe for the Funfetti cake is also a goodie and makes a great sponge that compliments the ice-cream well. I have never made an ice-cream cake before so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I stuck my sponge into the freezer with the ice-cream. But what came out was a super fun treat filled with different textures and delicious flavours that hit all the right pudding notes.

This Funfetti Speckled Egg Ice-Cream Cake does take a bit of time to make because you have to premake the ice-cream the day before as well as have the complete cake in the freezer for at least a few hours (or overnight), but it’s totally worth it.

Like always, please let me know if you make this speckled extravagancer I’d love to hear what you think.

PS: Here are a couple of other Easter themed recipes that you can try out if you like –

Chocolate Marshmallow Mousse

Easter Bunny Oreo Cupcakes

Speckled Egg Butter Cookies

Ingredients for the Funfetti cake sponge:

· 220 grams unsalted butter, room temperature

· 1 cup caster sugar

· 2 teaspoons vanilla essence

· 3 large eggs at room temperature

· 2 and 1/4 cups plain flour

· 3 x teaspoons Royal Baking Powder

· 1 cup milk

· 2 x tablespoons full cream (Greek) yoghurt

· 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles

Instructions:

1. Grease and line two 9-inch round baking tins. Preheat the oven to 160° C.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the butter, sugar and vanilla essence and beat with a handheld mixer until smooth and creamy.
3. Add in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix well after each addition.
4. Sift the flour and baking powder together in a bowl then add that and the milk to the mixture and beat on low speed until combined.
5. Add the yoghurt and mix thoroughly.
6. Finally, add the sprinkles and give the mixture a brief stir.
7. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins and bake in the oven for approximately ±25 minutes or until golden on top. Keep an eye on them to make sure you don’t overbake them. You can insert a sharp knife or toothpick in the middle to see if they’re done. If the knife comes out clean the cakes are ready.
8. Place the cakes in their tins on a wire rack and allow to cool for ten minutes before carefully removing them and letting them cool completely.

Ingredients for the Homemade Speckled Egg Ice-cream:

· 1 tin of sweetened condensed milk

· 2 x teaspoons pure vanilla extract

· Pinch of salt

· 2 cups cream, cold

· 2 packets of Speckled Eggs – roughly chop 1 packet, keep the second packet as is

Instructions:

1. Whisk together the condensed milk, vanilla essence and salt in a large bowl then set aside.
2. Whip the cream with a mixer on medium-high speed until firm peaks form.
3. Fold about 1 cup of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture with a rubber spatula until combined.
4. Then fold the rest of the condensed milk mixture into the whipped cream until well blended.
5. Gently fold in your chopped up Speckled Eggs as well as a few whole ones. 
6. Pour into a chilled 9 x 5-inch metal loaf pan (banana loaf pan) and freeze, covered, until thick and creamy. It should look like soft-serve. Should take a minimum of about 3 hours.

Whipped Cream topping for the top of the cake:

· 125 mls whipping cream

· 1 x teaspoon vanilla essence

· 1  x level teaspoon icing sugar

· Rainbow sprinkles and a few Speckled Eggs

How to assemble your Funfetti Speckled Egg Ice-Cream Cake:

1. Line the bottom of one of your 9-inch cake pans with a round of parchment paper. Then cut a strip of parchment that is about 60cms long and 15 cms high. Line the side of the pan with the parchment strip, overlapping the ends slightly. Spray a bit of nonstick spray where the ends overlap to help them adhere.
2. Make sure your sponges are completely cooled and if they have domed tops, trim them flat using a serrated bread knife. Both layers need to be flat.
3. Place one of the cake layers in the bottom of the prepared cake pan for the base of your ice cream cake.
4. Get your ice-cream out the freezer, if it’s too frozen allow it to thaw a bit to help you spread it. Using a spatula or a big spoon form a nice thick layer of Speckled Egg ice-cream on top of the first layer of cake, making sure you spread it out so it touches the edges of the parchment paper. I used all the ice-cream I made. 
5. Place the second cake layer over the ice cream and push it down slightly. 
6. Cover the cake with cling wrap and put the assembled cake in the freezer overnight.
7. About ±20 minutes before you are ready to serve, take your cake out of the freezer and pop it out of the pan and onto your serving plate. The parchment layer that you lined the side of the pan with will help you get the cake out in one piece. The cake itself is pretty sturdy so you can tug at it a bit.
8. Whip up some cream with vanilla essence and icing sugar until soft peaks form, then dollop it onto the top of your cake spreading it out evenly before covering it with sprinkles and Speckled Eggs.
9. * I have mentioned this above, but I’m saying it again, let the cake sit for ±20 minutes before serving it so that it softens up a bit.
10. * I used a cake knife that I dipped in hot water to slice up the cake.