These beautiful little frozen ice cream bombes took a little while to perfect. A lovely treat to finish a summer supper party, we enjoyed them last weekend along with a glass of dessert wine for a socially distanced supper.
This recipe is based on the same no-churn ice-cream recipe we spent weeks perfecting as written up previously here on the blog, so again there’s no need for a specialist ice-cream churn – just a stand mixer and a freezer proof bowl. The base biscuit layer, apart from looking pretty and artisan, provides texture and crunch as well as adding a little saltiness to contrast against the ice cream. Top with toffee sauce or berries to serve.
NOTES
– Use chilled cream – if the cream isn’t cold when you begin, it won’t whip very well.
– For best results, use eggs that are at room temperature as they whip better – the opposite of the cream. Also be sure to have a bowl and whisk attachment that is squeaky clean. After just a few minutes beating, the foam should become thicker and you should reach the stage of ‘soft peaks’ when you pull the whisk out. Keep pausing the whisk to check.
– Be careful not to over-whip your cream. Over-whipping will cause it to separate into butter and buttermilk. Once it’s turned, you can’t really salvage it. Whipping should take 2-3 minutes, depending on the speed you’re beating, but watch it carefully and stop as soon as it is thick enough that it drops off a spoon.
– Be careful not to over-whip your egg whites. Over-whipping will cause the matrix of the proteins to break down and the foam will collapse becoming grainy, watery and unusable.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Equipment:
- stand mixer/hand mixer plus whisk attachment
- two large mixing bowls
- rolling pin for making the biscuit crumb
- small saucepan
- 10-12 mini pudding moulds
Makes: 10-12 individual mini puddings
INGREDIENTS
For the biscuit bases:
- 140 grams butter, melted
- 300 grams digestive biscuits, crushed to a medium-fine crumb with a rolling pin
For the ice cream:
- 3 large egg whites (or powdered egg whites with water as per packet instructions)
- 180 grams icing sugar
- 450ml double cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
METHOD
Lining the tins:
Line each mini mould with clingfilm or if you’re being more environmentally friendly as we are, pour the ice cream straight into the moulds – you’ll need to run a sharp knife round the tops where the biscuit is to release them later and then they will then slide easily out.
Making the biscuit bases:
- Melt the butter on low heat in a small saucepan.
- Place the biscuits in a bowl and crush to a medium-fine crumb using the end of a rolling pin.
- Pour the butter into the crumb and combine thoroughly. Set aside for later.
Making the ice cream:
- Whisk the egg whites on medium-high speed in a stand mixer until stiff peaks form. Whisking should take only a minute or two. Watch carefully and be sure not to overmix or it will turn from soft peaks to a grainy, watery mixture that cannot be salvaged.
- Add the icing sugar and whisk well for a few more minutes until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. Set aside.
- Place the double cream in a separate large mixing bowl and whisk on medium-high for two to three minutes until the cream is thick enough that it drops off a spoon. Again, be careful not to overmix or it will turn from soft and thick consistency to a curdled result.
- Add the egg white mixture to the whipped cream until fully combined.
- Mix through any extras if desired at this stage – if making a basic vanilla, just add the vanilla paste. We also added in some dark chocolate chunks to ours on this occasion. For other flavour variations see our original ice cream recipe here.
To assemble:
- Place a few scoops of ice cream into each lined or unlined mini pudding mould. Fill up to about 1cm from the top.
- Place several spoonfuls of the biscuit crumbs you made earlier on top and lightly tamp down to form a flat top.
- Cover the tops of each with a small piece of foil, making sure there are no air gaps.
- Freeze for four hours.
To serve:
- Remove the mini bombes from the freezer. Release them one by one from their moulds upside down onto individual dessert plates with the biscuit crumb on the base.
- Top with toffee sauce, berries, nuts or any other additions you might like before serving.
