In this month’s class we wanted to share a very decadent, sinfully rich dessert perfectly suited for the holidays — a Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse & Vanilla Ice Cream Bombe. This is not your typical bombe glacée which has different layers of ice cream and fruit. Our bombe begins with a rich, decadent truffle cake, topped with a layer of chocolate hazelnut mousse and then a layer of vanilla ice cream. The bombe is then frozen and finished with a chocolate shell. Truly delightful, and as I said before, sinfully rich. For an extra special touch, we will create a heavenly espresso cream sauce to serve with the bombe. If you are looking for something special and impressive to serve your guests during the holidays then you have come to the right place!

Recipes Discussed in this Class: Chocolate Truffle Cake Chocolate Mousse Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Chocolate Masquerade Chocolate Honey Glaze Espresso Cream Sauce

Tools you will need: 9x2 inch springform pan Parchment paper Double boiler or a tempered glass bowl that will fit over a pan to act as a double boiler Stand mixer Pyrex measuring cups Candy thermometer Large glass or stainless steel bowl — the bowl should be 9 to 9-1/4 inches wide across the top Pastry bag with a decorative tip 9 inch round cardboard cake circle Cake plate

Grocery List: (Because this is a grocery list, these are not exact quantities but a general list of what you will need…you may have a little more than what is required in this recipe. For exact quantities please read through the various recipes discussed in this class.) unsalted butter (you will need a little less than 2 sticks) 26 oz. semisweet chocolate 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate dozen eggs granulated sugar 3/4 cup hazelnuts honey 1 pint heavy cream 1 small box of chocolate covered espresso beans 1 cup whole espresso beans 1 pint half-n-half vanilla extract

This dessert can be as cumbersome as you want. You can easily prepare this dessert over the course of several days, making it less overwhelming in the long run. In addition, after you have assembled the bombe you may keep it in the freezer for several days. This is another reason it makes an ideal holiday dessert because it can be done so far ahead. Another great side benefit of this dessert is that it is naturally gluten-free. The Chocolate Truffle cake contains no flour — just lots of chocolate, eggs and a little sugar!

So let’s get started!

Make the Chocolate Truffle Cake:

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Step 2: Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the bottom of the pan with some of the melted butter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, then lightly coat the paper with more of the melted butter. Set the pan aside.
Step 3: Melt the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate along with the stick of butter in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 4: Place the eggs, egg yolk and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whip and whisk on high speed until light in color and thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer and using a rubber spatula fold in the melted chocolate mixture.
Step 5: Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and spread evenly. Place the springform pan on a baking sheet and position it in the center of the oven. Bake for 26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out ever so slightly moist with dark chocolate crumbs. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool in the pan at room temperature for 20 minutes. Release the cake from the springform and invert it onto a cake circle (or a cake plate). Remove the bottom insert, then carefully peel off the parchment paper. Set aside at room temperature or if you are doing this over the course of several days, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (see notes at bottom of this class on making this bombe over several days for a complete timeline).

Make the Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skins removed, chopped
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons warm water
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 cup heavy cream

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove nuts from oven and cover baking sheet with a clean dish towel and let set for 10 minutes. Rub nuts together in the towel, or in your hands to remove skins. Chop the nuts coarsely. Set aside.
Step 2: Melt 2-1/2 ounces of the semisweet chocolate in the top half of a double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 3: Place the warm water in a small saucepan along with the honey; stir to blend. Add 1 tablespoon sugar. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Boil the mixture, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 240°F (measure with a candy thermometer — this is the soft-ball stage), about 5-6 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
Step 4: Immediately place the egg whites and the remaining tablespoon of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whip. Whisk on high speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add the hot honey mixture to the egg white mixture and whisk on high speed until the mixture is very thick, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
Step 5: Add the melted chocolate to the egg-honey mixture and stir with a rubber spatula to incorporate.
Step 6: In a clean bowl, whisk the cream until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula fold the whipped cream into the chocolate honey meringue until uniform in color. Transfer to the refrigerator for a few minutes.
Step 7: Melt the remaining 1-1/2 ounces of chocolate in the top half of a double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until smooth. Transfer the melted chocolate to a chilled bowl. Add the chocolate honey mouse and the chopped hazelnuts. Using a rubber spatula, fold the ingredients together until just combined. Refrigerate until needed.

Assemble the Bombe:

Note: You will need 3-1/2 cups of gf vanilla ice cream to complete this stage.

Step 1: Lightly grease the inside of a large glass or stainless bowl (the bowl should be 9 to 9-1/4 inches in diameter at the top). Line the inside of the bowl with plastic wrap, letting the plastic wrap hang over the edges.
Step 2: Remove the ice cream from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes or carefully defrost in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring between each interval — until the ice cream is softened, but not melted. When the ice cream is workable, transfer it to a medium bowl and work it with the back side of an ice cream soup to make it spreadable, but again make sure it is not melted.
Step 3: Transfer the ice cream to the bowl lined with plastic wrap and smooth the top so that it forms an even layer. Use a rubber spatula to eliminate any bubbles.
Step 4: Spoon the chocolate hazelnut mousse on top of the ice cream and smooth the top with a rubber spatula to form an even surface.
Step 5: Carefully place the truffle cake layer on top of the chocolate hazelnut mousse layer and gently press down on the cake until it is level with the mousse layer (the pressing down part is important because you need to remove any air bubbles or gaps between the cake layer and the mousse layer.)
Step 6: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the freezer for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Make the Chocolate Masquerade:

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Melt the chocolate, butter and heavy cream in the top half of a double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until smooth.

Glaze the bombe:

Step 1: Set a rack over a jelly roll pan.
Step 2: Remove the bombe from the freezer. Remove the plastic wrap from the top of the bowl (or unwrap to expose the cake layer). Invert the bombe onto a cake circle.
Step 3: Wrap a damp, hot cotton towel around the sides of the bowl and hold it there for 30 seconds.
Step 4: Remove the bowl and the plastic wrap from the bomb.
Step 5: Transfer the bombe onto the rack set over the jelly roll pan. Pour the chocolate masquerade over the bombe, allowing the flowing glaze to coat the entire surface.
Step 6: Place the bombe in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Make the Chocolate Honey Glaze:

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

Optional:

Chocolate covered espresso beans

Toasted hazelnuts, unpeeled

Step 1: Place the chocolate in a medium bowl.
Step 2: Heat the cream, honey and butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat. When the cream mixture is hot, stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Pour the boiling cream mixture over the chocolate and stir with a whisk until smooth.
Step 3: Transfer mixture to the refrigerator and chill for about 20 minutes or until thickened but not so thick that you can’t easily stir it.
Step 4: Transfer the chocolate honey glaze to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip.
Step 5: Remove the bombe from the freezer. Pipe a decorative edge around the bottom edge of the bombe with the chocolate honey glaze. If desired, position espresso beans and/or hazelnuts around the bottom perimeter, adhering them by gently pressing them into the chocolate honey glaze. Place the bombe in the freezer for 30 minutes before serving.

To serve:

Heat the blade of a serrated knife under hot running water and wipe the blade dry before cutting each slice.

Making the bombe well in advance:

As stated within this class, you can make this cake over the course of several days to make this dessert not so overwhelming. If planning on making this cake over a 4 day period, make the cake in these stages:

Day 1: Bake the Chocolate Truffle Cake. Once it’s baked, cool to room temperature. Release the cake from the springform pan and cover the cake with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until day 2.

Day 2: Make the Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse. Begin the assembly of the bombe — placing the layers in the bowl and covering tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze overnight.

Day 3: Make the Chocolate Masquerade. Remove the bombe from the bowl. Cover with the chocolate masquerade and freeze. Once frozen, cover tightly with plastic wrap to avoid permeating the bombe with freezer odors.

Day 4: Make the Chocolate Honey Glaze. Decorate the bombe. Freeze 30 minutes before serving.

An extra special touch:

If you are one of those cooks that really likes to go that extra mile, and after making this somewhat complicated dessert are still looking for a little something extra to do — you may want to consider complimenting this dessert with a very special and very delicious sauce. The sauce can be pooled on the plate and the slice of bombe is set on top the sauce.

Espresso Cream Sauce:

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups half & half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup whole espresso coffee beans

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, heat the half & half and vanilla over medium heat. Just before the mixture comes to a simmer, remove from heat and cover. Place the egg yolks in a medium saucepan and whisk until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually, beat in sugar and then blend in about 1/4th of the hot half & half by drops, then blend in the rest of the half & half. Add the espresso beans and set the pan over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Be careful not to let the mixture simmer or the egg yolks may lump. Strain through a sieve and let cool.

-Enjoy!