Baked ginger parkin with rhubarb ripple ice-cream, hot spiced treacle by Jeff Bland

INGREDIENTS
(Serves eight)

100g self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
2tsp ground ginger
1/2tsp ground nutmeg
1/2tsp mixed spice
75g oatmeal
175g golden syrup
50g black treacle
100g butter
100g soft brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
2dsp milk

For the rhubarb ripple ice-cream (enough for 10-12)
200ml full-fat milk
250ml double cream
1/2 vanilla pod, split and scraped out
6 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
250g rhubarb, chopped and slightly stewed
50g (approx) sugar, to sweeten

For the hot spiced treacle
200ml golden syrup
10ml cider
1/2tsp ground mixed spice

METHOD
Preheat oven to 140°C. Sieve together flour, salt, ginger, nutmeg and mixed spice. Mix in the oatmeal. Melt down the syrup, treacle, butter and brown sugar and simmer, but don't boil. Then stir in the dry mix and blend together. Add the beaten egg and milk to the mixture to create a soft, almost pouring, consistency. Pour into a greased 20cm-square tin. Bake for 11/4 hours until firm in the centre.

When cooked, allow to stand for 15 minutes before turning out. This can then be served. However, if kept in an airtight container, it will, like a good wine, improve with age. For best flavour, leave for three weeks.

The ripple ice-cream can be made in advance and kept in the freezer, but for no more than 48 hours to keep its flavour. Use the milk, cream, vanilla, egg yolk and caster sugar to make a crème anglaise mix, then cool down and churn in an ice-cream machine.

Meanwhile, sieve the stewed rhubarb and reduce the juices with sugar. Make sure this is cool and add to the ice-cream. When nearly frozen, add the pulp to the ice-cream to give the ripple effect, then turn off the machine.

To make the hot spiced treacle, mix the ingredients together and warm through. Plate and serve.