Bombe Alaska

I am going to catch up on blog postings from the oldest to the newest, and will hopefully do it quite quickly, as I have so many things to update and want to be putting new things up already!!

So, all that long time ago when we all lived in Oxford, we had the Bells over for a 5 course dinner (2 desserts I believe, thanks Bella!). I have always wanted to flambe something, and with my very own blow-torch, the dream could now be realised!

So, I set to work and make a bombe Alaska! Took a few hours to do in the end, but only 5 minutes or so, then freeze for and hour, do another step, freeze, etc. So actually easy, but just requires you to be around the house for an afternoon! Its also pretty easy in that you aren't really making anything from scratch (apart from the meringue), so its just assembling good ingredients to make them better! And flaming!!!!!!

Ingredients:
500ml ice cream of your choice - I just used a good quality vanilla
Sponge cake - I used a lemon drizzle cake as I was going a citrus theme
1/3 cup liquer - I used cointreau
2 egg whites
1/2 cup caster sugar

Method

1. Press ice-cream firmly into 1/2 cup moulds, and then turn out onto a baking tray lined with non-stick paper. Freeze until ice-cream is firm.

2.  Meanwhile, cut the sponge cake into thin pieces to fit underneath each of the ice-creams, and thin pieces to build up the sides.

3. Slip the cake piece under the ice cream and start placing the cake around the ice-cream moulds. Be sure to fully enclose the ice-cream in cake.

4. Brush the cake with liquer.

5. Put back in the freezer and leave it for an hour or so.

6. When you are ready to serve dessert, preheat the oven to 220 degrees celcius (425F). Place the eggwhites in a bowl and beat until soft peaks form.

7. When soft peaks have formed, start to add the sugar in bit by bit, mixing between each addition.

8. When hard peaks have formed, shape the meringue around each cake.

9. Bake in the oven for only about 5 minutes, until the meringue has browned (I left mine probably a minute too long, as you'll see by the extra-browned peaks!).

10. Now for the fun part, flaming!!!!!!! Put more cointreau over the cooked meringue with a pastry brush, however, only slightly... I seemed to have put a lot in the middle and then a lot on top, so ours were quite strong! When there is Cointreau on all of the meringue, light it and serve, flaming! My photos are appalling, but I wanted to include them anyway!!