December 6, 2006

Triple Berry Bombe Alaska

Bombe Alaska has been on my "favorite-desserts-list" from the moment I discovered the seductively delicious and harmonious match of alcohol and sweets. We never had it at home; and it was always regarded as a "special" treat. Bombe alaska's were uncommon in Malaysia. I always thought of it as a rare, indulgent dessert. *Well...at least till I discovered I could make it at home on my own *grin*
The best part of the whole show was watching the brandy light up as the hot blue flames flicker profusely. The flames would dance on the surface, spreading quickly to crust the meringue edges with beautiful glossy golden tints. An ingenious idea~ Hats off to its pioneer; what great showmanship!
Originating from New York City in 1876, the first Baked Alaska’ was created in honour of the newly acquired territory of Alaska. Later thought to have been popularized worldwide by French chef Jean Giroix in 1895 at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo
Mom recently discovered a recipe for a baked version of the Bombe alaska from her mountain-high stash of recipe books. I'm glad she goes through them in her free time in search of fun recipes for my blog and I...thanks for the help mom. I really do appreciate it, XOXO.

I gave the recipe a slight touch of "Su Yin" and rang some boys over to help me devour it. It isn't the exactly the type of dessert I could store, leave for later or give away.... it had to be eaten immediately and the excess is usually thrown out. Sigh...What a waste of good bombe *shakes head* :'(

1 large chocolate swiss roll
3 types of berries (Raspberry, blueberry, strawberry) - I bet mango would be excellent too!
1/2 tub SaraLee Strawberry cheesecake Icecream
1/2 cup homemade mixed berry jam
4 egg whites + 1/3 cup sugar
100ml brandy/rum (Min 40% alcohol)

A day in advance, layer the inside of a deep bowl with clingwrap, scoop soften icecream into the bowl, and pat down to compact into a semi sphere shape. Leave in freezer to set for at least 3 hours. Slice cake into 1 cm slices and lay 2 slices on a baking tray. Spread jam onto the cake surface and invert frozen icecream onto the cake. Working quickly, cover the icecream dome with a quick spread of jam and cover entirely with slices of cake. Press the corners down and compact into shape with the help of some clingflim on top. Pop back into the freezer overnight.Just before serving, Beat the egg whites till fluffy and stiff, add sugar a tablespoon at a time and beat till meringue is glossy and forms stiff peaks. Preheat oven to the highest temperature (240 degrees) and pipe meringue onto the icecream and cake dome. Bake the bombe for 2-3 minutes or until the meringue begins to borwn slightly. Remove from the oven briskly and pour brandy over the dome. Light the liquor on fire and watch the flames spread over the golden meringue crust. Serve immediately with the mixed berries.

14 comments:

-ernny- said...

Hey! I'm a big fan of your blog. Your cooking and baking skills are so impressive!! Well done on the Bomb Alaska. It looks very yummy! :)

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm....that looks lovely, by the way, doesn't the ice cream melt when u pop it to the oven to harden the meringue?

Anonymous said...

WOW!that is so pretty!looks delicious.

Anonymous said...

OMG I saw this on TV once and ive always wanted to eat one! Im gonna try this recipe b4 I fly off to Malaysia =D! Thanks Su-yin :)!

Rachel said...

Yum! Baked Alaska is a pretty rare find in the US now too. Very retro.

Anonymous said...

WOW! very impressive. it looks lovely!!

Anonymous said...

I am a silent reader of your blog. As a Singaporean living in the US, I miss the local foods from home....I have even cried when I looked at some of the food that you made in the past. It got me so emotional and I missed home more than ever. I try to follow some of your recipes sometimes, but I'm still a beginner cook...so I'm not that good enough. This bombe alaska looks delicious! Keep posting more!

الفــ العربي ــارس said...

Well done!
in fact, I am amazed of your blog!

GIRL YOU DOING "A" OK!

Keep up the good work, I will be watching and might do some of it, for I am not interested of more than EATING execludes the cooking ..lol
clap clap you are wonderful.
God bless your heart.

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

jiaen: Hey~ so nice to hear from you..:) THanks for you kind encouraging words

quavadis: nah..it doesnt...it isnt in the oven long enough, the meringue browns first..but anything more than 5 minutes would be a bad idea.

Khapz: wow..you guys are coming to msia again? give us a call :)

rachel: I <3 retro too~ I'm glad Im helping bring back forgotten classics

artizen flair: Wow! haha XOXO to you and your daughter. I'm bet it'll be a lot of fun to have this dessert as a family. Numbers make it more fun.
Seasons greetings to you and your family too~ :). I'll try to make time for the tag. THanks for thinking of me.

acaligurl: thanks :). It tasted lovely too..LOL

Anonymous: Wow...I'm sometimes taken aback by how my blog posts actually make impacts on peoples lives...It's really great to hear from you, I'm very happy you enjoy my work. I'm not a pro chefmyself..so the recipes shouldnt be too hard to follow or replicate. I hope you do try some of them do...flavours from home keeps me warm on wintery days abroad :)

(a script I can't read): hehe I'm sorry I didn't have Chinese star on my computer and I cant exactly see the typed wordings. ANyway, thanks for voicing your kind comments, thanks SO much for the encouragement..it really means alot..I still hope to be blogging in the next couple of years...*cross fingers*

Anonymous said...

Hi, I've been reading yr blog for sometime and found that you're very honest about your cooking - even though you've failed many times.

I've been looking around for ages for a good Bomb Alaska and found it at last!!!

My first encountered with BA was when a guy of middle eastern descent asked me, if the restaurant where I worked as a part-time waiter served BA. That was 16 years ago!!!

I had no idea what it was back then hahahaha.

But I remembered recommending him Currypuffs and he asked me what they were!!!

Hahahhahaha...

Keep on blogging... you're so good. You really are!

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I just discovered your page by searching for my newly acquired love for Bombalasca!!:) (don't you love my spelling)
You have opened a whole new world for me! I just had plain icecream and knifed on meringue, with boring cake all over.
Watch out Christmas lunch.
By the way you can freeze the left over bomb, it tastes fine, just not hot, though I have in desperation reheated in the microwave!
Thanks Again for the Christmas Present

Anonymous said...

Su Yin

what memories your Bombe Alaska brings back. Ipoh Swimming club days, ask yr mum grandpa will ordered it for dinners there.Yr uncles & aunties favourite, so we ask our favourite niece to make one for our indulgence.

joe cupcake said...

hey i made this for a special egg themed dinner on sunday and it was great! i used my homemade marmalade to make mandarin swirl ice cream, used a plain swiss roll and maple syrup to stick the cake on. it wasn't nearly as scary as i expected... the ice cream doesn't really melt does it?

thanks so much for the recipe and encouragement with all your photos and clear directions. and ps. great blog. i will be back to try some of your other recipes.

xenobiologista said...

Phew, that's impressive. Piping the meringue on looks so nice. By the way, your blog entry is the 6th hit on Google when one searches for "bombe alaska". Nice job =)