Bombe Danicheff

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1.5 litre (6 cup) smooth metal bombe mould or deep metal bowl
• •Ice-cream maker
• •Instant-read or sugar thermometer
• •Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small heavy saucepan

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill the equipment

   Set a 1.5 litre metal bombe mould or smooth metal bowl in the freezer. Chill a shallow metal pan for the coffee custard and prepare a large bowl of ice water. If your ice-cream maker uses a frozen bowl, it must already be frozen solid. Cold equipment is not fuss here; it keeps the churned coffee ice firm enough to stay on the walls of the mould.

2. 2

   Infuse the coffee

   Reserve 2 tablespoons of the coffee-ice cream, then combine the remaining cream with the milk, crushed coffee beans, espresso powder, and half the coffee-ice sugar. Warm gently until a ring of bubbles appears at the edge, remove from the heat, cover, and infuse for 20 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve without crushing the beans against it, since hard pressing extracts bitterness, then return the liquid to the saucepan.

3. 3

   Cook the coffee ice

   Whisk the 5 yolks with the remaining coffee-ice sugar and the salt until smooth. Pour in a third of the warm coffee mixture while whisking, return everything to the saucepan, and cook over gentle heat with a spatula until the crème anglaise, a stirred custard, coats the spatula and reaches 82 to 84°C. Never let it boil. If you see fine curds, pull it from the heat immediately, blend in the reserved cold cream, and strain it into the chilled pan. Ça se rattrape, provided the eggs haven’t become firm pieces. Stir the reserved cream into a smooth custard, set the pan over ice, and cool it completely.

4. 4

   Clothe the mould

   Churn the cold coffee custard until dense and softly frozen. Apply the clothing-mould principle from Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916): instead of rocking liquid jelly over broken ice, press the semi-frozen coffee ice against freezer-cold metal. Spoon roughly three quarters into the mould and use the back of a cold spoon to build an even 1.5 to 2 cm layer over the base and sides. Freeze for 15 minutes, inspect for thin patches, and repair them with more coffee ice. Reserve about ¾ cup in a covered container for the final cap, then freeze the clothed mould for at least 45 minutes, until the lining is hard.

5. 5

   Whip the pâte

   Begin beating the 4 pasteurized yolks at medium speed. Put the sugar and water in a small clean saucepan, bring them to a boil without stirring, and cook to 118°C. If crystals appear around the sides, cover the pan for 30 seconds so condensation washes them down, then continue uncovered. Pour the hot syrup in a narrow stream down the side of the moving mixer bowl, never onto the whisk, and beat until the pâte à bombe is pale, thick enough to hold a ribbon, and barely cool. If the syrup spins into hard threads, stop, remove them, and resume pouring against the bowl. Add the Kirsch gradually and beat until evenly combined.

6. 6

   Fold in the cream

   Whip the cold cream to soft peaks that bend at their tips. The pâte à bombe must be cool before the two meet; if the bowl still feels warm, set it briefly over ice and keep whisking. Fold in one quarter of the cream to loosen the base, then fold in the remainder with broad strokes until no white streaks remain. If the mixture goes loose after the Kirsch, chill it for 10 minutes before folding. Don’t add more sugar. Cold will soften the alcohol’s edge, and the Kirsch must remain unmistakable.

7. 7

   Fill and freeze

   Touch the coffee shell with a fingertip. It must feel hard and dry, not tacky. Spoon in the Kirsch pâte à bombe, pressing gently to exclude large air pockets and stopping about 1.5 cm below the rim. Let the reserved coffee ice soften just enough to spread, then seal the filling beneath an even cap. Cover the mould closely and freeze for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight. Any extra filling belongs in a small ramekin for the cook.

8. 8

   Unmould and serve

   Chill the serving platter. Wrap the mould in a warm, well-wrung towel for 5 to 8 seconds, invert it onto the platter, and lift. If it clings, repeat with the towel for 3 seconds at a time; patience, not hot water, preserves the coffee shell. Return the unmoulded bombe to the freezer for 15 minutes if its surface has softened. Temper it for 5 minutes before slicing with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between cuts. Serve without sauce or decoration. Coffee outside, Kirsch within, nothing timid. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The extra espresso powder is deliberate. Classical pastry kitchens kept concentrated coffee extract ready; a spoonful of good instant espresso is its honest home equivalent and gives the shell enough force to survive freezing.
• •Use true Kirsch, a clear, dry cherry eau-de-vie, not a sweet red cherry liqueur. Sugar would blur the filling and soften its freeze, while Kirsch supplies the clean cherry-kernel bite the dish requires.
• •The source’s reference to Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916) supplies the technique called clothing the mould. It contributes no sole, forcemeat, crayfish butter, or jelly to Bombe Danicheff.
• •Use pasteurized yolks for the pâte à bombe. The hot syrup cooks them considerably, but the mixture isn’t held at the steady temperature of the coffee custard.
• •Serve the bombe alone, followed by strong coffee or a small glass of Kirsch. Extra cream, fruit, and sauce only muffle the two flavors the mould was built to reveal.

Advance Preparation

• •Freeze the ice-cream maker bowl at least 24 hours ahead if the machine requires it. A bowl that sloshes when shaken isn’t cold enough to churn the coffee ice properly.
• •The coffee custard can be infused, cooked, and chilled a day ahead. Press parchment directly against its surface and keep it cold until churning.
• •Assemble the bombe at least 5 hours before serving. It is better frozen overnight and keeps well for 3 days when covered closely, although prolonged storage gradually dulls the coffee aroma.
• •Unmould up to an hour before dinner and return the bombe to the freezer on its serving platter. This removes the only theatrical moment from service, which is brigade scaffolding you’re entirely free to discard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 165g)