Espresso ice cream sandwiches with ginger cookies

Makes 8 Desserts and puddings

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Method

Allow the ice cream to soften for 5 minutes or so at room temperature, until it’s just spoonable. Grease and line a deep 20cm x 30cm baking tray.

Spoon the softened ice cream into the tray and spread to make it level. Cover with cling film and put in the freezer for a minimum of 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make the cookies. Preheat the oven to 190C/ 170C F/Gas 5. Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.

Melt the butter in a small pan over a medium heat, then remove from the heat and stir in the treacle and syrup, then whisk to combine.

Put the sugar in a bowl and pour the hot butter mixture on top, mixing to remove any lumps, then add the flours, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt and mix to a stiff dough. Weigh out 30g pieces of dough (you should get 16-18 pieces) and roll into balls, then dredge in demerara sugar.

Arrange the dough balls on the baking trays, leaving plenty of space for spreading – you may need to bake in batches if there isn’t enough space. Use the flat bottom of a glass to press down on the dough to flatten the cookies a little.

Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until just cooked but still slightly soft in the centre. Allow to cool on the trays for 10–15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. The biscuits will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

When ready to serve, remove the ice cream tray from the freezer. Use a round cutter roughly the same size as your cookies to cut out 8 discs of ice cream. Use 2 cookies to sandwich together the discs of ice cream and serve immediately.

If you want to serve later, wrap the sandwiches in greaseproof paper and store in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Allow to sit at room temperature for 5–10 minutes before serving. of ice cream.