SERVES 10-12
PREPARATION 40 MINS PLUS FREEZING TIME
COOKING 5 MINS
250ml (8fl oz) freshly squeezed orange juice
250ml (8fl oz) water
300g (10oz) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split
0.5tsp grated fresh ginger
12 dried apricots
150g (5oz) dried cherries
50g (1.75oz) dried cranberries
1.5l (48fl oz) vanilla ice cream
4 egg whites
185g (6oz) caster sugar
1. Combine the juice, water, sugar, vanilla and ginger in a large, stainless steel saucepan. Bring to the boil and cook steadily for about 10 minutes, or until slightly reduced and thickened. Add the fruit, return to the boil, reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the fruit is nice and soft. Set aside to cool.
2. Soften the ice cream and then spoon it into a 1.5l (48fl oz) capacity mould. Cover with clingfilm and freeze overnight or for up to a week before serving. It must be frozen solid.
3. To serve, heat the oven to 200ºC (gas mark 6). Whisk the egg whites in a large clean bowl with an electric beater, until they form soft peaks. Gradually add the caster sugar, whisking well after each addition, and continue to whisk until the mixture is glossy and forms firm peaks.
Remove the ice cream from the freezer and turn out of the mould onto a metal baking tray. Decoratively pipe or spread the meringue over the top of the ice cream. Transfer to the oven and bake for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.
4. While the ice cream is in the oven, warm the reserved fruit in a small saucepan. Serve both immediately.
TIP
If you ine the mould with clingfilm, it is easier to remove the ice cream from the mould. We used a large cinema popcorn cup; this is great as you can simply tear away the mould when ready to cover in meringue. If you want to really cheat, just stack two 500ml pots of ice cream on top of each other then cover them in meringue.