Ice cream birthday cake

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Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line 2 x 18cm loose-bottomed sandwich cake tins. Put the chocolate and butter into a heat proof bowl and put it over (but not in) a pan of barely simmering water. Gently heat until melted, stirring occasionally.

Put the sugar in a large bowl and stir in the melted chocolate. One at a time, gently beat in the eggs, then fold in the flour. Divide between the prepared tins and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the cakes have risen and are starting to crack, but still have a wobble under the crust. Cool in the tin for 30 minutes then transfer to the fridge for 2 hours.

Using a serrated knife, carefully cut each cake in half. The cake will be very fudgy so you may need to use a fish slice to help lift the slices apart. Put the slices onto a baking sheet and then into the freezer. At the same time, remove the strawberry and pistachio ice creams from the freezer. Wait for 15 minutes, or until the ice cream has softened just enough to scoop easily.

Remove the cake slices from the freezer. Working quickly, divide the strawberry ice cream between 2 of the slices of cake then spread the pistachio ice cream onto 1 more cake slice. Layer the cake slices up on a small board or plate, putting the pistachio in the middle and finishing with the top cake. Freeze for 2 hours/

Remove the vanilla ice cream from the freezer and mix in the peppermint essence. Working quickly, spread the ice cream over the top and sides of the cake using a palette knife. Freeze for 2 hours or until needed. Remove from the freezer and keep in the fridge for up to 15 minutes before serving.