Bombe Madeleine

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1½-quart (1.4-liter) metal bombe mould or round-bottom stainless-steel bowl
• •Ice cream machine or shallow metal freezing tray
• •Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
• •Sugar thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the cold

   Set the metal bombe mould in the freezer. Put the candied fruit in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of the Kirsch, turn it well, and leave it covered while you prepare the two ices. Chill the mixer bowl and whisk for the cream. Cold equipment is not ceremony here; it keeps the shell distinct and the filling light.

   Use firm pieces of candied citrus, melon, and cherry rather than fruit swimming in syrup. Sticky excess syrup weakens the freeze and blurs the pâte à bombe.
2. 2

   Make almond custard

   Process the almonds with half the milk until very finely ground. Scrape this into a saucepan with the remaining milk and the ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) cream, warm it until small bubbles gather at the edge, then cover and infuse off the heat for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing firmly. Whisk the 3 yolks with the ⅓ cup (80 ml / 67 g) sugar and salt until pale, temper with the warm almond milk, then return everything to gentle heat. Stir continuously until the crème anglaise coats the spoon and reaches 180°F (82°C). Do not boil it. If it turns slightly grainy, take it off the heat at once, strain and blend it while warm, then set the bowl over ice. Ça se rattrape. Chill completely.

   The custard is ready when a finger drawn through the coating on the spoon leaves a clean path. A hard boil scrambles the yolks and dulls the fresh almond flavour.
3. 3

   Churn the almond ice

   Churn the cold almond custard until dense and softly frozen, firm enough to hold a ridge but still spreadable. Without an ice cream machine, pour it into a shallow metal tray and freeze it, beating thoroughly every 30 minutes for 2 to 3 hours until the crystals are fine. Do not freeze it solid yet; chemiser le moule, clothing the mould with a frozen lining, requires almond ice soft enough to spread without gaps.

4. 4

   Clothe the mould

   Follow the mould-clothing procedure in Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916), applying its lining principle with softly churned almond ice in place of jelly. This citation supplies the technique only; none of the savoury components enters the dessert. Coat the chilled mould in two thin layers, freezing the first for 20 minutes before adding the second, until the base and sides have an even shell about ⅜ inch (1 cm) thick. Reserve about ½ cup (120 ml) almond ice for the cap. The reference uses broken ice to hold the lining during service; the domestic freezer is the honest equivalent. Freeze the clothed mould for at least 1 hour, until a fingertip leaves no dent.

   If the almond ice slides toward the bottom, both mould and ice are too warm. Scrape it back into the bowl, chill the mould for 15 minutes, beat the ice until spreadable, and begin again. Ça se rattrape.
5. 5

   Cook the pâte à bombe

   Put the ½ cup (120 ml / 100 g) sugar and 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of the water in a small saucepan, reserving the final tablespoon of water for rescue. Cook without stirring until the syrup reaches 244°F (118°C). While it cooks, beat the 4 yolks with the vanilla seeds until thick and pale. With the mixer running at medium speed, pour the hot syrup in a thin stream down the inside of the bowl, never onto the whisk, then beat at high speed until the mixture holds a broad ribbon and the bowl feels cool. If the syrup crystallizes before pouring, add the reserved water, cover for 30 seconds, and dissolve it again over gentle heat. If a few syrup threads harden against the mixing bowl, warm the bowl briefly over lukewarm water while whisking, then continue off the heat.

6. 6

   Fold the filling

   Whip the 1¼ cups (300 ml / 300 g) cold cream to soft peaks. Fold one-third into the pâte à bombe to loosen it, then fold in the rest with broad strokes, stopping as soon as no white streaks remain. Fold in the candied fruit with its absorbed Kirsch and the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) Kirsch. Keep the filling over a bowl of ice if the kitchen is warm. It should be airy and cool, not loose.

7. 7

   Fill and seal

   Test the almond shell before filling. If your finger marks it, return it to the freezer for 30 minutes; filling a soft shell is how the two mixtures marble. Spoon in the pâte à bombe, pressing gently enough to remove large air pockets without crushing its volume, and leave a ⅜-inch (1 cm) space at the rim. Soften the reserved almond ice just until spreadable and use it to close the base in an even cap. Cover tightly and freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

8. 8

   Unmould and serve

   Chill the serving platter. Dip the mould to just below its rim in warm water for 5 to 8 seconds, dry it, invert it onto the platter, and lift straight upward. If it holds, repeat with a 2-second dip rather than forcing it. If the surface softens too much, return the unmoulded bombe to the freezer for 10 minutes. Let it stand for 5 minutes before slicing with a knife warmed in hot water and wiped dry between cuts. The first wedge should show an ivory almond shell around a pale vanilla centre jeweled with fruit. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Kirsch is a dry cherry eau-de-vie, not a sweet cherry liqueur. Its clean heat keeps the rich filling from becoming heavy, and the measured amount gives perfume without preventing a firm freeze.
• •Choose mixed candied fruit with distinct pieces of citrus, melon, and cherry. Cut everything to the same small size so each slice carries colour without meeting a hard frozen lump.
• •A purpose-made bombe mould is handsome but not necessary. A round-bottom stainless-steel mixing bowl of the same capacity releases cleanly and gives the proper dome. Thin metal freezes faster and more evenly than glass.
• •The shell must freeze firm before the filling goes in. This is not brigade scaffolding. It is the dish, and no amount of decoration can restore the clean layers once they have marbled.
• •For neat slices, warm the knife, wipe it completely dry, and cut decisively. Water left on the blade freezes against the bombe and tears the surface.

Advance Preparation

• •The almond ice can be churned up to 2 days ahead. Press parchment directly against its surface and keep it frozen, then soften it in the refrigerator until spreadable before clothing the mould.
• •The clothed mould can wait in the freezer for 2 days before filling, tightly wrapped once the almond shell is hard.
• •The finished bombe is best made the day before serving. It keeps well for up to 1 week when tightly covered, though the candied fruit tastes brightest during the first 3 days.
• •Transfer the bombe from a deep freezer to an ordinary freezer compartment about 30 minutes before unmoulding if it has frozen exceptionally hard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 160g)