Apricot brioche delight

Method

1. For the apricot and amaretti ice cream: combine the apricot jam with the lemon juice. Lightly whip the cream and fold it into the jam, then gently fold in the amaretti biscuits. Spoon the ice cream mixture into a freezer container and freeze it for 1 hour, then stir well to break up the ice crystals. Repeat this 3 or 4 times until the mixture is nearly frozen, then leave it to freeze completely.

2. For the apricot brioche: grease a 28 cm shallow ovenproof dish and preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Whisk the egg and sugar together in a bowl until the mixture is pale and creamy, then add the mascarpone and whisk it again until smooth. Arrange the brioche slices in the dish as neatly as possible in a single layer, and spread the mascarpone mixture over the slices to about 1cm from the edge (it spreads during baking). Finally, arrange the apricot halves neatly in circles over the top, going right to the edge of the dish. Sprinkle them with the demerara sugar.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the mascarpone custard is set and golden. Leave the ice cream to soften for about 20 minutes in the fridge, and serve with the hot pudding.