Red, white and cool — freedom never tasted so sweet

Her other secret for a velvety, creamy texture? "Fresh ice cream is amazing!" As soon as it's frozen solid, the texture gets less fluffy. "At the Bent Spoon we continuously make the ice cream and it's never deep-frozen," she says. At home, eating straight from the machine will replicate that delectable experience. Though it won't quite match the lightness of freshly-made, stored ice cream can also be delicious, as long as it's wrapped tightly to prevent freezer burn and not allowed to melt first. "The reality is that it's pulled out, people eat it, what's not eaten gets a little melty and thrown back into the freezer," says Carbone. "Ice crystals then start forming! To me, that's the death of ice cream, right up there with onion absorption. The moral? Make everybody eat it all, or wrap and put away extras fast!"

Assemble with speed
For the same reason, Carbone's top tip for assembling the ice-cream cake is to do it quickly. It can be made in stages over a few days, but each time it's out of the freezer, work quickly to avoid melting, and recover it tightly with plastic wrap before refreezing. Besides that, "Just be creative and have fun!" says Carbone.

Servings: Makes one 9-inch cake.

This pretty, striped cake can be assembled either from freshly made sorbet and ice cream, or from leftovers. If you make the components fresh, it's helpful to have more than one freezer bowl for your ice-cream maker or a self-freezing machine. If you don't, remember that some models demand that you freeze the bowl overnight between batches. You can make the batches on successive days, packing each flavor into the pan as it's done, then freezing the pan and the bowl until you're ready to make the next batch.

Try to keep everything that you use in the preparation of this cake — even your cake stand or serving plate — cold. This will help the cake look better longer, especially on a hot day.

The simple, fresh flavors of the sorbet and ice cream don't need much embellishment, but crushed Newman's Own Organic O's (the organic take on Oreos) or chopped candied ginger make a nice addition and help separate the layers.

INGREDIENTS

• One recipe Simply Strawberry Sorbet
• 4 cups of cookie crumbs (process 7 Newman's Own Organic O's — creamy fillings and all — in the food processor until finely ground) or finely chopped candied ginger
• One recipe Lemon Ice Cream with Candied Lemon Peel
• One recipe Simply Blueberry Sorbet
• Freshly whipped cream, fresh berries, and sprigs of mint, for serving

DIRECTIONS

Place a 9-inch springform pan in the freezer until very cold, at least 1 hour.

Make the strawberry sorbet (or beat premade, frozen sorbet until smooth in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Remove the springform pan from the freezer and immediately scoop in the sorbet. Working quickly, use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula to smooth the sorbet into an even layer, approximately 1-inch high. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 cup cookie crumbs or candied ginger, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour.

Repeat the process with the lemon ice cream and another 1/4 cup of crumbs or candied ginger, freezing 1 hour. Finish with the blueberry sorbet, topping with the last 1/4 cup of crumbs or candied ginger. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze until set, at least two hours or overnight.

Chill a serving plate or cake stand in the freezer.

Just before serving, unmold the cake: Warm the blade of an offset spatula or knife in hot tap water, then wipe it dry. Run the blade around the inside edge of the pan, then unlock and remove the sides. Place the chilled plate or cake stand upside-down on top of the cake pan and flip everything over so the cake is resting on the plate. Rewarm the knife and gently edge it between the bottom of the pan and the cake to remove the bottom of the pan. Garnish with a mint sprig and serve with whipped cream and fresh berries.

If the entire cake is not eaten in one sitting, immediately after slicing, wrap it well with plastic wrap and put it back in the freezer. This will help prevent melting and refreezing, which can ruin the texture.

To read more about The Bent Spoon, click here.

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