Cassata ice-cream sandwiches recipe

This beautiful recipe for ice-cream sandwiches with a twist is so pretty, it'll make a show-stopping centrepiece for a festive feast to share with friends and family.

Ingredients

Shortbread biscuits

250g unsalted butter, chilled, cubed

⅔ cup caster sugar

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1 cup plain flour, plus extra for kneading

½ cup rice flour

Cassata ice-cream

2L good quality vanilla ice-cream

85g packet Greek yoghurt-covered cranberries, cut in half (see tip)

100g dried pineapple, diced (see tip)

100g dried rockmelon, diced

60g roughly chopped pistachios, plus extra to serve

200g fresh raspberries, plus extra to serve

Icing sugar, to dust

Method

To make shortbread biscuits

Put butter, sugar and zest in the small bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale and creamy.

Transfer to a large bowl. Add sifted plain flour and rice flour. Stir until combined and mixture forms a dough.
Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until just smooth. Cut in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 160C. Line 2 large oven trays with baking paper.

Roll one piece of dough between two pieces of baking paper until 7mm thick. Using a 6.5cm round cutter, cut dough into rounds.
Using a metal palette knife, carefully lift rounds onto trays, placing 2cm apart. Knead dough scraps together and re-roll to make more.
Bake for about 13-15 minutes, turning trays halfway, until biscuits are pale in colour. Cool on trays for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Repeat with remaining dough. Biscuits can be made up to 4 days ahead and stored in an airtight container.
To make cassata ice-cream

Allow ice-cream to soften out of the fridge for about 30 minutes. Spoon into a large bowl.
Add dried fruit, ¼ cup pistachios and 1½ cups raspberries, and stir until combined. Spoon back into ice-cream tub.

Sprinkle remaining pistachios and raspberries on top. Cover and freeze overnight.
To serve, place a large scoop of ice-cream between 2 biscuits and gently press down with the palm of your hand until ice-cream reaches the edge. Sprinkle sides with extra pistachios. Freeze for up to 1 hour. Dust with icing sugar and serve with extra raspberries.

Tip:

Dried fruit is available from most greengrocers. You can also use dried diced pawpaw or mango. Substitute dried cranberries if the yoghurt-covered variety is unavailable.

Kerrie Worner

With over 20 years in magazines, Kerrie’s work has adorned HB’s pages as contributing food editor, along with BHG, Elle Cuisine, Australian Women’s Weekly and Family Circle. “It is so important to encourage people to learn simple food skills so they can learn how easy it is to fall in love with their creative side,” she says.