Bombe Trocadéro

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6-cup (1.5 L) metal bombe mould or smooth rounded stainless-steel bowl
• •Ice-cream machine or wide shallow metal freezing tray
• •Small saucepan
• •Electric mixer and chilled mixing bowl
• •3 graduated round cutters or paper circle templates
• •Pastry brush
• •Small offset spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the orange base

   Combine the water and granulated sugar for the orange ice in a small saucepan. Bring just to a boil, stirring until perfectly clear, then remove from the heat and cool completely. Stir in the strained orange and lemon juices only after the syrup is cold; heating the juice would flatten the fresh orange fragrance. Chill the base for at least 2 hours, until thoroughly cold.

   Taste the cold base before churning. It should seem slightly sweeter and sharper than the finished dessert needs, because freezing mutes both sugar and acidity.
2. 2

   Churn the orange ice

   Churn the cold base until it is thick, fine-textured, and firm enough to mound from a spoon. Add two-thirds of the diced candied orange zest during the final minute so it remains suspended rather than sinking. If the ice is too loose to spread, freeze it for 15 to 20 minutes; if it has gone hard, let it soften briefly in the refrigerator and beat it firmly with a spoon. Ça se rattrape. Reserve about 1 cup for closing the mould.

   Without an ice-cream machine, freeze the base in a wide metal tray and scrape it vigorously with a fork every 30 minutes until fine and malleable. The texture will be slightly coarser, but it will still clothe the mould properly.
3. 3

   Clothe the mould

   Chill a 6-cup (1.5 L) metal bombe mould or smoothly rounded bowl for 20 minutes. Chemiser, to clothe the mould, uses the geometry recorded in Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916); only the mould-lining technique crosses into this dessert. Press the orange ice over the bottom and sides in an even 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) shell, using the back of a cold spoon to close every gap. If a thin place appears, patch it now with soft ice and smooth the join. Freeze the clothed mould for at least 1 hour, until completely hard, and keep the reserved ice frozen separately.

   An uneven shell unmoulds badly and produces orange-heavy and cream-heavy slices. Measure the thickness near the rim, then use that edge as your guide all the way down.
4. 4

   Make Curaçao syrup

   Combine the water and sugar for the syrup in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and simmer for 1 minute. Cool completely, then stir in the Curaçao. The liqueur goes into cold syrup so its orange perfume stays alive. Set the syrup beside a pastry brush.

5. 5

   Cut and saturate roundels

   Reach for the filbert Génoise prepared from Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376). Cut three roundels in graduated sizes to follow the mould's taper, about 3, 4 1/2, and 6 inches (7.5, 11.5, and 15 cm) for an 8-inch (20 cm) mould, trimming each so it leaves roughly 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) between cake and orange shell. Brush both faces repeatedly with the Curaçao syrup until saturated but still liftable, then scatter the remaining candied orange zest over each roundel. If one tears, support it on a broad spatula and fit the pieces together inside the mould; the frozen cream will hold the repair.

6. 6

   Whip the Chantilly

   Whip all but the reserved 2 tablespoons of cold cream with the confectioners' sugar and vanilla until the Chantilly forms medium peaks that hold their shape while the tips still curve. Stop there. Grainy, overwhipped cream freezes hard and leaves gaps around the cake; if the whisk carries it too far, fold in the reserved liquid cream a teaspoon at a time until it becomes smooth again. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Build the layers

   Work promptly so the orange shell stays hard. Spoon a layer of Chantilly into the narrow bottom of the mould, pressing it gently into the curve without trapping air, then set in the smallest Génoise roundel. Cover with Chantilly, add the middle roundel, repeat with cream, and finish with the largest roundel. Fill the space around every cake layer with Chantilly as you go. If the shell begins to soften or looks wet, stop and freeze the mould for 10 minutes. Soften the reserved orange ice just enough to spread, then close the opening with a 3/8-inch (1 cm) cap joined cleanly to the side shell.

8. 8

   Freeze and unmould

   Cover the mould and freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Chill the serving platter, wrap the mould in a hot damp towel for 5 to 8 seconds, then invert it onto the platter. If the bombe does not release, repeat for 3 seconds rather than warming it continuously. Should the surface soften, return the unmoulded bombe to the freezer for 15 minutes. Rest it at room temperature for 8 to 10 minutes before cutting with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between slices. The first wedge should show clean rings of orange ice, ivory Chantilly, and Curaçao-darkened Génoise. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use sweet, fragrant oranges and strain the juice well. If fresh oranges are tired, good refrigerated or frozen pure orange juice is the honest pantry answer, but the candied zest must still taste brightly of orange rather than sugar alone.
• •Choose a dry orange Curaçao, never a colored novelty bottle. The liqueur is not decoration here; it perfumes and moistens every Génoise layer, so its flavor remains clear after freezing.
• •Measure your own mould before cutting the roundels. The listed diameters suit a common rounded mould, but the real rule is graduated circles that leave an even channel for Chantilly between cake and orange shell.
• •Serve with demi-sec Champagne or coffee, not another sauce. The bombe already contains ice, soaked cake, cream, candied zest, and liqueur; cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the filbert Génoise from Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376) up to 2 days ahead, wrap it well, and keep it at room temperature, or freeze it for up to 1 month.
• •The orange base and Curaçao syrup may be made a day ahead and kept cold. Churn the base shortly before clothing the mould so it remains easy to spread.
• •Assemble and freeze the bombe up to 3 days before serving. Once it is hard, cover the mould tightly so the orange ice does not collect freezer odors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 195g)