Neapolitan Marshmallow Slice Food

NEAPOLITAN MARSHMALLOW SLICE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 30cm x 20cm slice tin. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add essence and egg and beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients. Mix well, and press into baking tray. Bake at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes.
• 2. Soften gelatin in cold water in a saucepan Add sugar and bring to the boil for 8 minutes. Beat egg whites till stiff, fold in confectioners sugar and then add the cooled gelatin mixture. Beat for 3 minutes till thick.
• 3. Use half of the gelatin mixture and spread on cooled base. Using the remaining gelatin add some pink food colouring to it and mix it in, and then add on top of the white gelatin. You can add coconut to the top if you like. Refrigerate until marshmallow has set.

NEAPOLITAN ICE CREAM

Steps:

• For the custard base and vanilla ice cream layer: In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the half-and-half and sugar. Stir it around to combine.
• Using a small paring knife, split the vanilla bean down the middle. Scrape out the caviar inside and add it to the pan along with the bean. Stir the mixture around and heat it up until it's hot but not boiling.
• Add the egg yolks to a medium bowl and whisk them vigorously until the yolks are slightly lighter in color, about 2 minutes.
• Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan. Grab a ladle of the hot half-and-half mixture and drizzle it very slowly into the yolks, whisking constantly. This will temper the egg yolks so that they don't scramble when they're added to the saucepan. Add another ladle of the hot liquid, and when it's mixed in, pour the egg mixture slowly into the half-and-half mixture, stirring with a spoon until the mixture is thick and coating the spoon, 2 minutes or so.
• Set a fine-mesh strainer over a clean glass bowl and strain the custard. Don't worry if it looks a little lumpy! That just means you're perfectly imperfect. Add the heavy cream to the bowl and stir to combine. Divide the mixture into three pitchers; set aside one pitcher to work with for the chocolate ice cream layer, and chill the other two.
• For the chocolate ice cream layer: Melt the dark chocolate chips with the heavy cream over a double boiler. When the chocolate and cream mixture is smooth and melted, add 1 cup of the reserved custard and combine. Return this mixture back to the pitcher. (This step is to ease the mixing process to make it easier to pour back into the custard and could therefore be omitted.) Whisk the cocoa into the pitcher. Pour into an ice cream maker and churn as per the manufacturer's instructions. (This will take approximately 1 hour.)
• Line two 6-cup loaf pans with plastic wrap. Scoop half of the chocolate ice cream into each. Smooth them over and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
• To make the vanilla ice-cream layer, add the second pitcher of custard to the ice cream maker and churn according to the instructions. (Again, approximately 1 hour.)
• Remove the loaf pans from the freezer and spread half of the vanilla ice cream in each. Smooth and return to the freezer for at least 1 hour.
• For the strawberry ice cream layer: Combine the strawberries, sugar and red food coloring in a blender and puree until smooth (or you can stop just short of smooth if you want a little texture). Pour the pureed strawberries into the final third of the chilled custard mixtures and stir. Pour into the ice cream maker and churn.
• Remove the two pans from the freezer and scoop half of the strawberry ice cream into each, making the final layer. Smooth and return to the freezer for at least an hour.
• To serve: Remove the loaf pans from the freezer, turn them upside down onto a serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. Slice neatly with a knife that has been dipped in very hot water.

LAYERED NEOPOLITAN SQUARES

Steps:

• Bottom: Mix the 4 first ingredients together. Put in a greased 9x9 baking pan (grease the sides also). Cook in the oven at 350 F for 10 minutes.
• Second Layer: In a clean bowl, mix coconut and condensed milk. Spread this mixture on the bottom, in the pan. Cook in the oven at 350 F for 20 minutes, or until the cookie begins to golden on the sides. Let cool before icing.
• Icing: Beat all ingredients of the icing together, adding juice, if needed to have a good consistency. Put the icing on the cold cookie. Put in an hermetic container and let rest at least one day to let the cookie soften. You can eat the squares the same day but they're harder to cut when fresh.