Iced Vo-vo Ice Cream

With Australia Day coming up next week, Facebook and the internet is being swamped with pictures of lamingtons, pavlovas, prawn dishes, kangaroo burgers and the like.

It's nice to get in the spirit of the day, so I thought I'd work on a recipe for my variation on a classic Aussie treat. Iced vo-vos are particularly Australian and I know that my husband loves them. Why not come up with an ice cream version, which is probably much better suited to enjoying on a hot day than a biscuit with a cup of tea!

This recipe is really quite easy to make. I made the biscuits and the raspberry sauce myself and then stirred them, pink marshmallows and coconut into bought vanilla icecream. If you wanted to get super fancy, you could make your own ice-cream and marshmallows. I don't have an ice cream machine and didn't have the time to make my own marshmallow. Iced vo-vos should be fun, after all!

If you were really short on time, you could always use a packet of milk arrowroot biscuits and shop bought raspberry sauce or jam. The flavours would still be delicious!

You won't need all of the biscuit base or sauce in the ice cream, so you can experiment with other combinations to come up with your own dessert. Maybe iced vo-vo sandwiches?

Just make sure you leave the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer long enough to soften before you try to stir in the components. If you like more jam or more marshmallow, just add a bit extra. Tip it all back into the original tub and then freeze again for a few hours before serving.

This is the perfect dessert to have on Australia Day, or at any time over summer when you feel like a sweet treat.

Iced Vo-Vo Ice Cream

Biscuit base

60g butter, softened

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup plain flour

3/4 cup SR flour

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Beat butter and sugar in a bowl with a mixer until creamy.

Add egg and continue to beat until smooth and fluffy.

Stir through sifted flour until it forms a soft dough.

Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to rest. This is really important on a hot day, otherwise the dough is too soft.

After 15 minutes, roll the dough out onto the baking paper directly into a rectangle about 5mm thick. You might need a sprinkling of flour to stop it sticking.

Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and transfer the biscuit on the baking paper to a wire rack to cool completely.

Raspberry sauce

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

1 Tbs caster sugar

Place berries and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Bring to a simmer and cook until the berries release their juices and start to break down. You want a thin jammy consistency.

Allow to cool slightly, then push through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds.

Allow the sauce to cool completely. If it seems too thick, add a tiny bit of water to thin.

1 litre vanilla ice cream

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup pink marshmallows, finely chopped

Allow the ice cream to soften and tip into a large bowl.

Stir through coconut, marshmallows and as much of the crumbled biscuit as you like.

Drizzle over the raspberry sauce and gently stir through so that you create a ripple.

Spoon it back into the original container and return to the freezer for a couple of hours to set.

Enjoy with a little more of the raspberry sauce over the top and a piece of biscuit poking out the side.

Perfect summer indulgence!

Coconut, Strawberry And Macadamia Loaf

I love to bake, but prefer to make simple, everyday cakes, slices and biscuits that I can indulge in every day. Sometimes the super rich, fancy treats can be a bit too much. Plus, they don't really last, so unless we're having a dinner party, I tend to avoid making them. I'm really the only sweet-tooth in the house as well, so if I make something sweet, I end up eating the whole thing. Not great for the waistline!

With strawberries being so cheap and beautiful at the moment, I couldn't resist coming up with a recipe to use them. I'll still probably make up a couple of batches of strawberry jam for Christmas presents and maybe a cheesecake, but this loaf was lovely.

It's quite a dense loaf, due to the coconut, but would be perfect as an indulgent breakfast or morning tea, toasted and then topped with whipped ricotta and a few fresh strawberries. Yum! Straight out of the oven, it tasted pretty good too.

The strawberries add nice little bursts of sweetness and flavour and the finely chopped macadamias a bit of crunch. 

My breakfast and morning tea for the week is definitely sorted. :-)

Coconut, Strawberry and Macadamia Loaf

2 eggs
1 1/4 cups of milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

70g butter

2 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon 
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

1 cup strawberries, chopped


Preheat oven to 160 degrees.

Grease a 13x23cm loaf tin.

In a small bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla essence.

In another small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave in 20 second bursts and allow to cool slightly. 

Whisk the cooled butter into the egg mixture. 

In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon.

Add sugar, coconut and macadamia nuts.
Make a well in the dry ingredients, and pour in the egg mixture. Stir gently until all combined, but don't over mix.
Gently stir through the strawberries.

Spoon into the loaf tin and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until a skewer comes out clean. If it seems to be browning too quickly, cover the top loosely with some foil.
Leave to cool slightly in the tin and then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Serve as is or cut into thick slices and toast.

Enjoy!