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DESSERT: Flaming Chocolate Cherry Bombe

Source of Recipe

posted by jazzdoll at recipe usa


List of Ingredients

1 8-inch high-quality Devil's Food chocolate-cake layer, homemade or

purchased (see recipe below)

1 pint chocolate-cherry ice cream (such as Ben & Jerry's Cherry

Garcia)

4 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon 151 rum

High-quality chocolate sauce (optional)






Recipe

1. Trim cake to a 5-inch circle. (Reserve cake trimmings for later snacks.) Place trimmed cake on a large freezer-to-oven plate, pie pan turned upside down, or other metal ovenproof tray or plate.

2. Soften ice cream slightly and cut away the container. Turn out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Drape the ice cream with another large piece of plastic wrap and mold the ice cream into a dome shape, 5 inches in diameter at the base. Place ice cream on the trimmed cake and immediately place in freezer while making the meringue. (The recipe can be prepared to this point up to 1 week in advance.

Thoroughly wrap the cake and ice cream with plastic and keep frozen.)



3. To make the meringue: In a grease-free mixer bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat until just barely getting peaky. Then beat in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until stiff and glossy.



4. Remove the bombe from the freezer and remove the plastic. With clean hands, pile the meringue on the frozen bombe, covering all surfaces and swirling and making cute [decorative] peaks in the meringue with your fingertips. Immediately place the bombe back in the freezer, uncovered, and keep frozen until ready to serve. (This step can be done up to 1 day in advance.) Be sure the bombe is frozen for a minimum of 4 hours before serving.



5. Serve and flame the bombe: Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place bombe in the oven for about 4 to 6 minutes, or until meringue is nicely browned all over and meringue tips are golden browned.



6. Bring to the table immediately and place on a trivet. Immediately flame by pouring 151 rum in a metal ladle or large spoon and warm it over a candle. Then light the rum and carefully pour it over the bombe. (Be careful not to dribble any 151; it is on fire!) When the flames go out, cut the bombe in wedges and serve on plates drizzled/decorated with chocolate sauce.



Chef's note: The trick is to keep the whole thing really well frozen before baking the meringue in the oven. Leftover bombe can be re-frozen. For serving 4 people, use the entire 8-inch cake layer and double the ice cream and meringue amounts.



YIELD: 2 to 4 Servings