Jamie's Christmas with Bells On

Jamie: "I've gone back to one of my first loves - the Marathon bar (aka Snickers) for this ridiculously heavenly ice cream. I don't care what it says on the wrapper, in my mind this chocolate bar will always start with an 'M'. Clearly I have issues left over from childhood. And look, I know you've seen me do programmes and heard me say 70% chocolate is the best, and it’s true. But I think every now and then, if something brings back memories or makes you smile, a little bit of the cheap stuff isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Serves 12

• 1 vanilla pod
• 55g golden caster sugar
• 4 large free-range eggs, separated
• 500ml double cream
• sea salt
• 3 bars of Snickers, finely chopped
• 50g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces

1. Pop a large earthenware dish in the freezer to get nice and cold.

2. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar with the vanilla seeds and egg yolks until pale. In another bowl, whisk the cream until it forms soft peaks, making sure you don't over-whip it. In a third bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form very firm peaks. At this point, put most of the Snickers and all of the dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl and set it over a pan of simmering water on a really low heat, making sure the water doesn’t touch the base of the bowl. Leave it to soften slightly.

3. Meanwhile, gently fold the cream into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the egg whites with a large metal spoon. Scoop half the mixture into the chilled earthenware dish. Fold the softened chocolate pieces through the other half, making sure you don't knock any of the air out of it. Swirl the two mixtures together in the dish, sprinkle with the reserved Snickers pieces then cover with cling film and freeze. Take it out of the freezer half an hour before you want to eat it, and serve in ice cream cones to save on washing up.