Mike van de Elzen: Classic bombe Alaska

Classic bombe Alaska Cook time: 10 minutes  Prep time: 30 minutes  Serves: 6 Start by scooping 6 balls of ice-cream and place them into the freezer to harden. Now, make up the sponge by sifting flour and baking powder together. Fold lightly into egg mixture, sugar, salt, & vanilla. Then fold in the butter. Pour into greased 20cm tray. Bake at 200 for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Allow to cool before cutting into small discs slightly bigger than the ice-cream scoop. You will have heaps leftover.  Now make up the Italian meringue, one cooled place into a pipping bag.  It's now time to make up the bombe - Place the scoop of ice-cream onto of one sponge disc. Pipe the meringue mixture around the ice-cream, starting from the bottom and layering up around the ice-cream to the top. Try to ensure all theres no gaps exposing the ice-cream  Take a blow torch and burn the outside of the meringue until well colored. If you don't have a blow torch crank up your oven on grill and quickly cook the bombes until till dark  Just before you serve pour over some brandy and light at the table! Be careful! Italian meringue  Cook time: 12 minutes  Prep time: 30 minutes  Serves: 12 350gm sugar  80ml water  6 egg whites In a pot, bring the sugar and water to a boil, turn down the heat to medium and continue to cook till the sugar reaches 110*c. Throughout this time use a pastry in cold water to keep the inside sides of the pot clean.   Once you reach 110*c, start whisking whites in a bench top mixer.  You want the whites to be just foaming, if this is reached before sugar is ready, turn mixer down to low speed to stabilize the whites until sugar is ready.  When sugar reaches 120*c take off the heat and slowly pour into whipping whites at a medium speed,   Turn mixer up faster as the sugar blends in. (take care not to pour sugar onto beater as it will spin it around bowl and not into the whites)  When all sugar is in, turn mixer to high and beat until cool and glossy.  The end product should be extremely glossy and quite dense to touch. Place into a piping bag ready to be used.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.