Mocha Latte Truffle Ice Cream Bombe

An ice cream bombe or bombe glacée is a frozen French dessert. It was meant to resemble a cannonball, and has been around since the late 1800’s. This is a technique more so than a recipe, however, it is an impressive dessert and a delicious one too! You can of course, use any ice cream flavors. Chocolate, vanilla and coffee flavored ice cream work really nicely with the ganache and the pecans.

You will need:

• A 3 ½ quart metal mixing bowl

• Plastic wrap

• 3, 1 ½ quart containers of ice cream (we used chocolate, vanilla and a chocolate chip coffee flavored ice cream)

• Pecans (1 cup)

• A 4 oz. package of semi-sweet baking chocolate

• Heavy cream

Freeze the metal bowl for about 15 minutes. While the bowl is freezing, you can chop 1 cup of pecans, and get started on the ganache.

Chocolate Ganache-

• 4 ounces of semi-sweet baking chocolate

• ½ cup of heavy cream

Chop the baking chocolate or run it through a food processor until you have small pieces and shavings. Heat the heavy cream on stovetop over a low heat until it steams, or in the microwave on high for 1 ½ minutes. Gently stir the cream. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let that sit for a minute before stirring. Stir the chocolate and cream mixture until it is smooth. Set the chocolate aside, and let it cool.

Remove the bowl from the freezer and line it with plastic wrap. Cross two sheets of plastic wrap so the entire inside is lined; there should be plastic coming up over the edge of the bowl.

For the first layer-

This will be the outermost layer. Take the frozen chocolate ice cream out of the container with a spoon in pieces. The ice cream doesn’t need to be softened, as it will become more malleable when worked with. However, if the ice cream is rock-hard, let the ice cream sit at room temperature for about 1 minute; it should be soft, not melted! Fill the bowl with the whole container (1 ½ qt.) of chocolate ice cream, distributing it evenly. Wrap your hand with a piece of plastic wrap, and gently press the ice cream into and up the sides. Make sure the layer of ice cream is about 1 ½ - 2 inches thick; it won’t come to the top of the bowl. Once the ice cream seems even, take a spoon and wet it with warm water. Smooth the surface with the spoon. Pour about 2/3 of the cooled chocolate ganache into the bowl. Rotate the bowl around a bit to distribute the ganache, and then smooth it over with a dry spoon or spatula. Sprinkle about ¾ of the chopped pecans over the ice cream and ganache, then pat them into the sides.

Return the bowl to the freezer, and leave it in for 30 minutes. This allows the ice cream to set up enough for the next layer.

For the second layer-

This will be the middle layer. Take the frozen vanilla ice cream out with a spoon in pieces, just as before. Fill the bowl with about ¾ of the container of ice cream. Smooth the surface with a warm, wet spoon. Add the rest of the ganache and smooth it around with a dry spoon or spatula. Then, add the rest of the chopped pecans, and pat them into the sides.