Salted Caramel Popcorn Ice Cream Cake

Prepare ice cream by combining 1 cup of cream with Vanilla Bean Paste and Vanilla Extract, sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously until sugar dissolves ensuring the mixture doesn’t boil. Remove from heat.

Gradually whisk in remaining cream and milk. Chill for at least 8 hours or overnight, then churn in an ice cream maker as per machine instructions and freeze until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line an 8 inch/20 cm springform cake tin.

Cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition.

Combine flour and baking powder, then gradually alternate adding flour and milk for 2-3 additions. Mix until just combines then scrape into prepared cake tin and smooth the top.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave cake to cool completely, and then chill for a few hours or overnight – the cake is easier to assemble if everything is cold.

To make the caramel, place sugar in a medium saucepan with a splash of water and place over a medium heat. Do not stir the mixture at all, just tilt the pan if it is melting unevenly. Cook until sugar is melted, and then let it boil until the mixture turns a dark amber colour, about 5-7 minutes.

Remove caramel from the heat and very carefully add the cream and butter. The mixture will bubble up furiously, but just leave it to calm down, and once it’s calm, place it back on the heat and stir until everything is melted and combined. Add salt to taste, and then leave the sauce to cool completely, chill in the fridge until ready to assemble.

Remove ice cream from fridge and allow to soften while cutting the cake. Carefully slice cake into two even layers, and line a spring form cake tin with plastic wrap.

Place the bottom layer of the cake into the tin, and then scoop in the ice cream, adding dollops of the chilled caramel to create a ripple effect. Use about half of the caramel in the layer. Once all the ice cream is added, quickly add the top layer of cake, very lightly press down and then cover it with plastic and place in the freezer for at least 4 hours to set.

To serve the cake, heat remaining caramel and place the popcorn into a mixing bowl. Pour half of the caramel over the popcorn, and toss to combine. Unwrap the frozen cake and place it on a serving stand. Carefully pile on the popcorn, drizzle with the remaining caramel and serve!