How to make a Christmas Bombe Alaska

Summer is heating up which means Christmas is near! Our Chefs at the RNA have shared with us a yummy Bombe Alaska recipe that will impress all of your friends and family this Christmas!

This recipe is simple, but does involve four main steps to form your Bombe Alaska (it's worth it, we promise).

Step 1 - Making the Genoise sponge (pronounced "zhen-wahz")

Ingredients:

• 6 Eggs (broken into 6 Egg Whites and 6 Egg Yolks)
• 130g Caster Sugar
• 50ml milk
• 125g corn flour

Method:

1. Beat egg yolks and 45g of caster sugar on high speed until full volume
2. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites on high speed, add the remainder of the caster sugar (85g) gradually until soft peaks form
3. Fold milk slowly with spatula under the egg yolk mix
4. Then fold egg white mix and corn flour under egg yolk mix
5. Spread evenly on a baking tray lined with baking paper
6. Bake at 190C for about 10 minutes
7. Let sponge cool and cut into shape for lining your log tin

Step 2 - Make the Ice-cream filling 

Ingredients:

• Approx. 70g of ice-cream - we used Strawberry ice-cream for an Ekka taste, but we also recommend using the RQA Silver Award Winning ice-cream - Bulla Creamy Classics Vanilla Ice Cream as a simple base
• Optional: If you use a simple vanilla ice-cream, you can add chopped up fruit, cherries or chocolate for an added taste

Method:

1. After you lined your log tin with the sponge, soften the ice-cream a little so it is easy to fill. Add the ice-cream to the log tin and flatten the surface with a spatula (ensure you have enough ice-cream on hand)
2. Top the tin with a pre-cut sponge sheet (as the base ) and freeze overnight

Step 3 - Make the Meringue topping

Ingredients:

• 150g egg whites
• 300g caster sugar

Method:

1. Mix egg whites and sugar in a metal bowl
2. Place bowl over a hot water basin and warm to about 45C, ensure all sugar has been dissolved
3. Place meringue mix in a mixing bowl with whisk attached
4. Whip mix on high speed until it gets firm and full volume

Step 4 - Finish your Bombe Alaska

Now you have completed the first three steps in forming your Bombe Alaska, it's now time to put it all together and wow your friends and family with the finished result!

What's needed:

• Your frozen ice-cream log
• Meringue mix in a piping bag

Method:

1. Preheat the oven on 220C
2. Remove the ice-cream log from the mould and set on baking paper on a baking tray
3. Pipe the meringue mix on the log and place in oven on fan speed - it will only take a couple of minutes to bake the meringue until it's a light golden colour (even better, if you have a blow torch, you can use it it add a little extra colour to the tips of the meringue prior to placing it in the oven)
4. Place in the freezer again to chill, then cut into slices and serve with fresh berries, and decorate with your choice of ginger bread cookies, holy leaves or rose petals