Ginger cake with pecan ice cream

Method

1. To make the ice cream, put the whipping cream in a saucepan and heat gently but don’t let it boil. Put the eggs in a bowl and whisk to combine, then slowly pour into the warm cream along with the maple syrup, whisking constantly until well mixed. Leave to cool, then stir in the toasted pecans. Transfer to an ice-cream maker and churn until thick, or freeze in a shallow container for around 4-5 hours, beating the mixture 3-4 times during the freezing process to break up the ice crystals.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Grease and line the base of a 23cm square cake tin with baking paper. Put the butter in a large bowl with the sugar, then beat well with an electric hand whisk for 5 minutes until light, pale and creamy. Add the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, eggs, milk and 4 tbsp golden syrup, then mix well.
3. Drizzle the base of the tin with the rest of the golden syrup, then lay the sliced apples over the top, so they overlap each other. Stir the stem ginger and 1 tbsp ginger syrup into the batter, then pour it into the tin over the layer of apples. Bake for 50 minutes.
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5. Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, then turn out so the apples are uppermost. Peel off the paper, then glaze with the rest of the ginger syrup. Serve warm, cut into squares, with a scoop of the ice cream and a drizzle of golden syrup.