• 1 lb / 455 g vanilla ice cream

Cake

• 2 heaped tbsp caster sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 egg whites
• 2 heaped tbsp self-raising flour, sifted

Fruit

• 12 oz / 340 g stoned cherries or blueberries
• 1 oz / 30 g caster sugar, or to taste
• 4 tbsp kirsch or white rum

Meringue

• 3 egg whites
• 3 tbsp caster sugar

Scoop the ice cream into balls or quenelles, place on a tray and open-freeze very hard. To make the cake, beat the sugar and egg yolks together until pale and foamy. Whisk the egg whites to firm peaks. Stir the sifted flour into the egg and sugar mixture, and then fold in the egg whites. Spoon the batter into a greased and floured shallow 8 inch sponge tin, and bake in a preheated oven at 180° C / 350° F / Mark 4 for 12 minutes. Allow to cool slightly in the tin before turning out on to a wire rack to cool.

Heat the fruit and sugar with a little water until tender. Stir in 2 tablespoons of spirit, and put to one side. For the meringue, whisk the egg whites until firm but not granular. Stir in the sugar, and whisk until you have firm, glossy peaks.

Place a small ramekin in the centre of the cake on an ovenproof serving platter. Arrange the frozen balls of ice cream around it, and spread the meringue all over, sealing in the ice cream. Bake in the top half of a preheated oven at 200° C / 400° F / Mark 6 for 3–4 minutes, until the meringue is just golden. Remove from the oven. Spoon some of the warm fruit into the ramekin and, just before you are about to serve them, pour on the remaining kirsch or rum and light it. Hand the rest of the fruit around separately.