Cardamom bun bombe

Serves 68

Vegetarian

Prep time 30 Mins

Cooking time 10 Mins

Freezing time 4 Hours Equipment Mediumsized bowl

(capacity 1.5 litres)

If you happen to have dayold, slightly stale buns lying around, this is a good way of using them up. I’ve also made this dessert using bought buns when I’ve been short of time and need a quick and easy dessert for a dinner party.

200g golden or date syrup

200g caster sugar

2 tsp ground cardamom

1⁄2 tsp fine sea salt

300ml double cream

2 litres goodquality vanilla ice cream 1214 shopbought cardamom or

cinnamon buns

Method

Start by making a caramel. Pour the syrup into a large, heavybased pan, followed by the sugar, cardamom and salt. Place on a hot heat. Swirl the pot around every minute or so to help incorporate the sugar. Once the caramel starts to simmer, cook for a further 5 minutes or until a dark golden brown. Take off the heat. Gradually incorporate the cream — be careful, as the mixture will splutter and rise. Fill a bowl with water and ice, place the caramel pot on top of the ice and leave to cool.

Take the ice cream out of the freezer and put into the fridge to soften slightly.

Line your mediumsized bowl with cling film, leaving some excess to fold over the top to cover. Cut the cardamom buns in half and place some of them cut side down in the bowl, so the bowl sides are fully covered.

Beat the softened ice cream and swirl in a third of the cooled caramel. Set aside the rest for serving. Spoon the ice cream into the bowl and press it down. Cover the ice cream with the remainder of the bun halves. Wrap with the excess cling film and freeze for at least 4 hours.

To serve, take the bombe out of the freezer 15 minutes before serving. Open up the cling film at the top, place a serving plate over the bowl and turn upside down. Remove the cling film and leave to thaw slightly. Right before serving, pour over the remainder of the caramel sauce.

Tips: Use a knife run under hot water to cut the bombe.

Cardamom can be replaced with other spices, such as cinnamon, ground ginger and allspice.