Strawberry drizzle cake

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Ingredients
For the cake:
  • 100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 200g golden caster sugar, plus 2 tablespoons extra for sprinkling
  • 1 egg
  • 120ml milk – whole or semi skimmed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 200g self raising flour
  • 600g strawberries – washed, hulled and halved (take 6 and put them to one side for the icing)
For the icing:
  • 6 strawberries – taken out of the 600g above
  • 50g icing sugar, plus extra if needed
For the clotted cream ice cream:
  • 2 eggs
  • 125g caster sugar
  • 454g clotted cream 
  • 250ml whole milk
Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/gas mark 4.
  2. Line a 20cm round springform tin with baking paper.
  3. Beat together the butter and sugar until well combined; it won’t go light and fluffy because of the ratios involved.
  4. Beat in the egg and the milk.
  5. Beat in the vanilla.
  6. Fold in the flour.
  7. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and level the surface.
  8. Arrange the strawberries, cut side down, over the batter. I had to pile the strawberries on in two layers – it will seem like you have too many, but it will all be fine!
  9. Sprinkle the two tablespoons of sugar over the top.
  10. Bake for approximately 50 minutes – 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Mine took just over an hour.
  11. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for approximately 15 minutes, before de-tinning and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack. Do not worry when you see the cake sinking as it cools – it does this!
  12. While the cake is baking start making the icing glaze: chop the retained strawberries and sprinkle with one teaspoon of icing sugar.
  13. Leave for approximately 15 minutes and then press the strawberries through a sieve to extract their juice. As it’s a small amount of fruit the back of a spoon should do the job.
  14. Take one tablespoon of the strawberry juice and mix with the icing sugar until smooth and thick. If you need to add extra icing sugar or extra strawberry juice, do so.
  15. Drizzle the icing over the cake and leave to set.
  16. To make the ice cream: whisk the eggs until they become thick and frothy. This will be quite noticeable so don’t stop before you see them become rich and velvety looking.
  17. Gradually whisk in the sugar.
  18. Add the clotted cream and milk and whisk well until the mix is well combined.
  19. Chill in the fridge for at least two hours before churning in your ice cream machine per the manufacturer’s instructions.
  20. Serve the cake in generous slices with cream, or ice cream for a summer dessert.
  21. Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.
  22. Eat.
NB. If you don’t have an ice cream machine simply spoon the mixture into a 2 litre tub and freeze for three hours. Remove from the freezer, whisk until smooth, then refreeze for three hours. Repeat this process a further three or four times before leaving to set for two hours and then serving. The repetition of whisking is to break down any ice crystals and create that smooth texture which is so important.