Bombe Maltaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1.5-liter metal bombe mould or stainless-steel bowl, about 20 cm wide
• •Ice-cream machine, or shallow 23 by 33 cm metal pan and sturdy fork
• •Small saucepan
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Chilled mixing bowl and balloon whisk or hand mixer
• •Small offset spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill the mould

   Clear a level freezer shelf. Put a 1.5-liter metal bombe mould or stainless-steel bowl in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, along with the serving platter. Chill a mixing bowl and whisk separately for the Chantilly. Metal catches the cold quickly and releases the finished bombe cleanly; a thick glass bowl insulates too well for this work.

2. 2

   Make the orange ice

   Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Warm gently, stirring only until the sugar dissolves and the syrup turns clear; it must not color. Cool for 10 minutes, then stir in the blood-orange juice, lemon juice, and salt. The lemon sharpens the orange without announcing itself. Chill the mixture thoroughly, about 45 minutes, because a warm base churns slowly and forms coarse crystals.

   Taste the mixture cold. It should seem slightly sweeter than a drink, since freezing mutes both sweetness and aroma. Do not reduce the sugar casually; it controls texture as well as flavor.
3. 3

   Churn until spoonable

   Churn the blood-orange mixture in an ice-cream machine until dense, smooth, and soft enough to spread, usually 20 to 30 minutes. Without a machine, pour it into a shallow metal pan, freeze it, and beat it firmly with a fork every 30 minutes until the crystals are fine and the mixture holds on a spoon. If it freezes solid before the mould is ready, ça se rattrape: move it to the refrigerator for 10 minutes, then beat it back to a thick slush.

4. 4

   Clothe the mould

   Chemiser le moule, clothing the mould, is the operation that defines the bombe. Reach for the principle preserved in Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916): reserve about 1 cup (240 ml) of the soft blood-orange ice, then press the remainder evenly against the bottom and sides of the frozen mould, making a layer about ⅓ inch (8 mm) thick. The cited preparation supplies the technical reference only; none of its savory contents enters this dessert. Freeze the shell for 20 minutes, inspect it against the light, and patch any thin or bare spots with more orange ice. The brigade's salted-ice tub can go. This clear, even shell cannot.

5. 5

   Whip the Chantilly

   Set aside 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of the cold cream. Rub the tangerine zest into the confectioners' sugar with your fingertips, releasing the fragrant oils, then add this sugar to the remaining cream in the chilled bowl. Whisk only until the cream forms soft peaks whose tips bend over. At the first grainy look, stop. Ça se rattrape: fold in the reserved liquid cream a teaspoon at a time until smooth. If the cream reached soft peaks properly, fold in the reserved cream at once to keep the filling supple, then fold in the tangerine juice one teaspoon at a time. Distinct butter grains mean the rescue window has closed; save that butter and begin the Chantilly again.

6. 6

   Fill and seal

   Spoon the tangerine Chantilly into the frozen orange shell, pressing it gently toward the sides so no hollow pockets remain. Stop about ⅓ inch (8 mm) below the rim and smooth the surface. Freeze for 20 minutes, just until the cream holds when touched. Stir the reserved blood-orange ice until spreadable, then cover the cream from edge to edge, sealing it completely inside the mould.

7. 7

   Freeze the bombe

   Cover the mould tightly and freeze it on the level shelf for at least 4 hours, or overnight. The center must be firm enough to support the orange shell when inverted, but the Chantilly should remain softer than the surrounding ice. This is why the cream stops at soft peaks and why no yolk custard belongs here.

8. 8

   Unmould and slice

   Dip the mould up to its rim in warm, not hot, water for 5 to 8 seconds. Dry it, invert it onto the frozen platter, and lift steadily. If it refuses, dip it again for only 2 seconds; patience, not hotter water. Should the surface soften, return the unmoulded bombe to the freezer for 10 minutes. Let it stand for 5 minutes before cutting, then use a knife warmed in hot water and dried between every slice. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This dish truly needs blood orange. Out of season, use unsweetened frozen blood-orange purée or bottled juice whose ingredient list says blood orange and nothing else. Ordinary orange makes a pleasant frozen dessert, but it does not make Bombe Maltaise.
• •Use heavy cream with at least 35 percent fat. Lighter cream won't hold enough air, while cream whipped stiff freezes dense and waxy. Soft peaks are not timidity here; they are the technique.
• •Do not trim the sugar from the orange ice. Sugar lowers the freezing point and keeps the shell sliceable, so reducing it gives you a brick, not a brighter dessert.
• •A metal mixing bowl is the honest home equivalent of a bombe mould. Avoid silicone, which bends while you line it and makes an even shell needlessly difficult.
• •The timing assumes an ice-cream machine. The shallow-pan method works well but adds roughly 2 hours, so make the orange ice earlier in the day.

Advance Preparation

• •The blood-orange mixture can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator, ready to churn.
• •The complete bombe can be assembled a day or two before serving. Once it is firmly frozen, wrap the mould tightly so the cream takes on no freezer odors.
• •Freeze the serving platter for at least 30 minutes before unmoulding. Bring the bombe out only 5 minutes before slicing, since the thin orange shell softens faster than the center.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 150g)