Bombe Nero is a gourmet dessert made from sponge, caramel, ice cream and chocolate truffles which is then coated in meringue which is briefly cooked in the oven before being taken to table with a little meringue cup of flaming rum on the top. This recipe is inspired by the original one conceived by Escoffier – why not try it as a special treat one day?
Escoffier’s Original Recipe for Bombe Nero
The great French chef Georges Auguste Escoffier is famous for revolutionising the eating habits of the Victorians and his legacy and recipes continue to influence the chefs of today. He created many new dishes during his time as chef and one of those was Bombe Nero – named, probably, in honour of the Roman emperor Nero who fiddled whilst Rome burned because a little bit of rum is lit to create a flaming appearance as it is carried to table.
The original recipe appears in his book A Guide to Modern Cookery, published in 1907, and is made up of six distinct elements – the sponge base made of punch biscuit, caramel, vanilla ice cream, vanilla mousse, chocolate truffles and meringue. Oh, and of course some rum which is set alight as the bombe is carried to the table.
Simple Recipe for Ice Cream Bombe Coated in Meringue
Poor chef will be in the kitchen for hours if each individual element of the recipe is made from scratch and is likely to be worn out from all the whisking of egg whites as the original calls for something close to 3 dozen eggs. The punch biscuit calls for another eight eggs.
This recipe is a faithful replication but is far less exhausting and far more economical with the eggs! These recipes for vanilla mousse and vanilla ice cream could be used – just add a couple of squirts of caramel sauce to the ice cream – or quality shop bought ice cream is just as nice.
Ingredients:
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream with caramel
- ½ pint vanilla mousse
- Piece of punch biscuit or swiss roll type sponge large enough to cover the open end of the ice cream mould
- Uncooked meringue made using 2 egg whites and 2 oz caster sugar
- Half a dozen chocolate truffles
- 2 tablespoons rum
- 1 tiny cup shaped meringue that is big enough to hold the rum
Method:
- Preheat the oven to gas mark 7, 425 F, 220 C
- Line a one pint pudding basin with the vanilla ice cream
- Chop the chocolate truffles into smallish pieces and mix with the vanilla mousse
- Fill the ice cream lined bowl with the mousse and chocolate mixture and smooth the top
- Turn the ice cream out onto the punch biscuit or Swiss roll sponge on a baking tray and trim the cake to shape
- Cover the ice cream all over with the raw meringue mixture
- Put the cooked meringue cup on the top
- Bake in the oven for three or four minutes until the meringue is nicely browned
- Pour the rum into the meringue cup and then serve immediately, lighting the rum as it is carried to table.
Elaine Findlay - An expert cook, Findlay's passion for food is evidenced by the size of her kitchen and her library of old recipe books
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