Bombe Mogador

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1.5-liter (6-cup) metal bombe mould or smooth freezer-safe bowl
• •Ice cream machine
• •Instant-read or sugar thermometer
• •Electric stand mixer or hand mixer
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Cold metal spoon or small offset spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the coffee custard

   Combine the milk, cream, espresso powder, salt, and half the coffee-ice sugar in a saucepan. Bring it just below a simmer, stirring until the coffee dissolves. Whisk the five yolks with the remaining sugar until smooth, then slowly whisk in one-third of the hot dairy. Return everything to the saucepan and cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the crème anglaise, a stirred custard, reaches 82 to 84°C and coats a spoon so a finger drawn through it leaves a clean path. Never let it boil. If the first fine curds appear, take it off the heat, strain immediately into a cold bowl, and blend briefly until smooth. Ça se rattrape. Distinct scrambled curds mean the custard must be made again.

   The warm crème anglaise should taste a little too strong and sweet. Freezing mutes both, and a timid coffee base becomes beige silence.
2. 2

   Chill and churn

   Set the bowl of crème anglaise over ice and stir until cold, then cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Churn it in the ice cream machine until thick and softly mounded. Chill the empty bombe mould at the same time. Reserve about 1 cup (240 ml) of the coffee ice in a shallow covered container for sealing the bombe, keeping it frozen but still spreadable.

3. 3

   Clothe the mould

   The source directs the cook to the mould-coating motion explained in Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916). Borrow the method, never the fish preparation: chemiser, or clothe, the chilled mould by pressing the remaining soft coffee ice against the bottom and sides in an even layer 1 to 1.5 cm thick. Work with the back of a cold spoon, turning the mould as you go. Freeze for 15 minutes, repair any thin patches, then freeze for at least 45 minutes, until the shell feels hard throughout.

   Hold the mould against the freezer light and look for pale, translucent patches. Those are thin places and will split first when the bombe is unmoulded.
4. 4

   Cook the sugar syrup

   Put the sugar and water for the Kirsch Bombe-preparation in a small saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves, then boil without stirring until the syrup reaches 118°C. If crystals gather on the sides, cover the pan for 30 seconds so condensation washes them down. If the syrup seizes completely, add 1 tablespoon of water and melt it again over gentle heat. Patience, not force.

5. 5

   Whip the pâte à bombe

   Begin whisking the six pasteurized yolks in a stand mixer at medium speed. With the mixer running, pour the 118°C syrup in a thin, steady stream between the whisk and the side of the bowl, keeping it off the moving wires. Increase the speed and whisk for 7 to 10 minutes, until the pâte à bombe, the hot-syrup yolk emulsion, is very pale, thick enough to fall in ribbons, and cooled below 25°C. If it remains warm, set the bowl over cold water and continue whisking. Warm pâte à bombe melts whipped cream and leaves the filling dense.

6. 6

   Finish with Kirsch

   Whisk the Kirsch and pinch of salt gradually into the cooled pâte à bombe. In a separate cold bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks; it should bend from the whisk, not stand stiffly. Fold one-third into the yolk mixture to lighten it, then fold in the rest with broad strokes until no white streaks remain. Taste before it chills. The Kirsch Bombe-preparation should be clearly aromatic and slightly sweeter than the finished dessert ought to be, because the freezer will quiet it. Do not chase a faint aroma with extra Kirsch; too much alcohol prevents a firm freeze.

7. 7

   Fill and seal

   Check that the coffee shell is hard before filling. Spoon in the Kirsch Bombe-preparation, pressing it gently toward the sides to prevent hidden air pockets, and stop about 1 cm below the rim. Let the reserved coffee ice soften just enough to spread, then cover the filling completely, making a level coffee base. Cover the surface and freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

8. 8

   Unmould and serve

   Chill the serving platter. Wrap the outside of the mould for 5 seconds with a towel dipped in warm water and wrung dry, then invert it onto the platter. If the bombe refuses to release, repeat for 3 seconds at a time. Never soak the mould, because the coffee shell melts first. If an edge softens, return the unmoulded bombe to the freezer for 15 minutes. Let it stand for 8 minutes before cutting with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between slices. Serve without garnish, so coffee and Kirsch remain the whole argument. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use dry, clear Kirsch, preferably from Alsace or Franche-Comté, not a sweet cherry liqueur. Added sugar and flavouring blur the clean fruit spirit the Bombe Mogador requires.
• •The coffee must taste darker than an ordinary coffee ice cream. Kirsch has no fruit purée or chocolate beside it here, so a mild coffee shell disappears rather than balancing the centre.
• •No ice cream machine? Use 3½ cups (830 ml / about 750 g) of dense, plain coffee ice cream, without chocolate pieces or caramel. That changes only who prepared the finished coffee ice; the clothing, pâte à bombe, and staged freezing remain intact.
• •A metal bombe mould releases fastest, but a smooth 1.5-liter freezer-safe bowl works honestly. Avoid thick glass, which responds slowly to the warm towel and encourages the outer layer to melt before the centre releases.
• •Keep the finished bombe tightly covered for up to 3 days. Kirsch leaves the centre naturally softer than the coffee shell, so cut it straight from the freezer after its brief rest.

Advance Preparation

• •The coffee crème anglaise can be cooked and chilled up to 2 days before churning. Keep it covered in the cold so it does not collect refrigerator aromas.
• •The entire bombe can be assembled up to 3 days ahead. Freeze it in the mould, tightly covered, and unmould shortly before serving.
• •For a dinner party, unmould the bombe 30 minutes before dessert and return it to the freezer on its serving platter. Take it out 8 minutes before slicing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 180g)