Now I guess not everyone can claim to have a dessert named after them - unless you're called Pavlova.

This was a recipe given to me by my mum.

Ingredients

1 packet of Ginger Nuts (or fingers)
Sherry
Double Cream
1 tin Mandarin Oranges
Pouring Cream (optional extra)

Method

Whip the double cream until it makes soft peaks. Dip the biscuits in the sherry one at a time and sandwich them together with the whipped cream. Keep repeating this until you have used all the biscuits and have a long roll or oblong (if you've used the fingers) on your serving dish. Cover the "cake" with whipped cream (as you would a yule log) and decorate with the drained mandarin oranges.

Put in the refrigerator until time to serve - with pouring cream.

Having soaked up the sherry, the ginger biscuits take up a Tiramisu type consistency and are barely recognisable. The dessert is wickedly sinful - that's not how it came to be named after me I hasten to add!

So how did it come to be called "Alaska Marian"?

Many years ago I made this dessert and took it into work (probably on a birthday as you do!) We didn't manage to eat it all and a young YTS asked if she could take some home for her mum. Her mum enjoyed it so much and asked what it was called. She said "I'll ask Marian" her mum misunderstood and thought she said "Alaska Marian"

So there you have it! Enjoy :)