CAKE OF THE MONTH

What a triumph to behold! If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at the famous bombe alaska, now’s your chance, as this version uses bought dulce de leche and ice-cream. All you have to do is make the brownie base and fluffy frosting, then assemble it, finishing with a flourish from a blowtorch. BUTTERSCOTCH SNOWBALL BOMBE PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES (+ COOLING & FREEZING) SERVES 10

You’ll need to start this recipe a day ahead. Before you start, though, make sure you have enough space in your freezer to fit the bombe.

2 eggs, separated

¼ cup (55g) caster sugar

90g dark chocolate, melted, cooled slightly

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

3 litres good-quality vanilla ice-cream, plus

1 cup, extra 4 x 45g chocolate-coated coconut bars, chopped coarsely

250g dulce de leche (see tips on page 108)

FLUFFY FROSTING

2 cups (440g) caster sugar

2/3 cup (160ml) water

4 egg whites

1 Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease a 23cm springform pan; line base and side with baking paper.

2 To make the brownie base, beat egg yolks and half the sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer for 5 minutes or until pale and thick. Stir in chocolate.

3 Beat egg whites in a clean bowl with electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar, beating well after each addition, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick and glossy. Using a large metal spoon, fold egg white mixture into chocolate mixture in two batches. Pour mixture into pan; smooth the surface.

4 Bake cake for 15 minutes or until set in the centre. Turn cake out onto a wire rack lined with baking paper; cool. 5 For the ice-cream mixture, place scoops of ice-cream in a large bowl; soften slightly. Fold chopped chocolate bars through ice-cream. Spoon ice-cream mixture into a 21cm,

2-litre (8-cup) bundt pan; smooth the surface. Top with the chocolate cake to cover the ice-cream and bundt pan hole, forming a base for the cake bombe. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze for 3 hours or until firm.

6 Combine the extra ice-cream and dulce de leche.

7 Dip bundt pan into warm water for 10 seconds. Turn ice-cream out onto a chilled plate. Spoon dulce de leche mixture into the hole in the centre of ice-cream to fill the hole. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze for 2 hours or until firm.

8 Meanwhile, make fluffy frosting.

9 Remove plastic wrap; spread frosting all over cake, mounding up in the centre and swirling with the back of a large metal spoon. Just before serving, use a kitchen blowtorch to lightly brown the frosting.

FLUFFY FROSTING

Stir sugar and the water in a small saucepan over medium heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Boil, without stirring, for 5 minutes or until syrup reaches 115°C on a sugar thermometer.

Allow bubbles to subside. Towards the end of syrup cooking time, beat egg whites in a clean medium bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. With motor operating, slowly add hot syrup to egg whites in a thin, steady stream, beating for 10 minutes or until mixture is thick and stands in firm peaks. Frosting should be almost cool at this stage.

Bombe can be made to the end of step 7 up to 2 days ahead. You can also complete the recipe to the end of step 9, then freeze the bombe for a few hours. This makes it easier to cut.