Christmas Chestnut Bombe Recipe

This recipe is part of the December 2007 Recipes Menu.

Starter - Avocado Cream Terrine
Starter - Goats Cheese, Pear and Walnut Salad
Main Course - Fruit Stuffed Goose
Main Course - Parcels of Ricotta and Spinach
Dessert - Cranberry Cheesecake
Dessert - Christmas Chestnut Bombe

In our search for alternatives to the traditional Christmas Pudding - which, let's face it, some people aren't too keen on because they find it too heavy after a turkey dinner - we proudly present this Chestnut Bombe which will offer a lighter choice of dessert at Christmas.

One of the best things about this recipe is that it is very simple to make yet appears more complicated that it actually is. Just take the credit without telling the truth! And the addition of chestnut gives this dessert a Christmasy feel.

You can choose your favourite vanilla ice cream and you can change the quantites according to your taste. You may also want to experiment with different ice cream flavours such as chocolate or strawberry. Bear in mind that you will need to freeze this at least overnight before it is ready to serve so if you need something at short notice this probably isn't the recipe you are looking for.

Ingredients

2 litres of vanilla ice cream

10oz can whole chestnuts drained

2 tablespoons icing sugar

1/4 pint creme fraiche

4oz macaroons

3 tablespoons rum

(see measure conversions for more information)

Method

Before you start the recipe, remove your chosen ice cream from the freezer. It needs to be fairly soft before you put it into the blender.

Put the chestnuts, icing sugar and creme fraiche in the blender and blitz until it reaches a smooth consistency.

When the ice cream is soft enough scoop it into the blender along with the chestnut puree. Blitz again until everything is nicely mixed.

Now grab a mixing bowl big enough for the ice cream mixture and pour the mixture in the bowl.

On a plate roughly crush the macaroons to bitesize pieces and sprinkle them with the rum. If you want to use different spirit, brandy would also work well.

Using a spoon fold the spirit soaked macaroons into the ice cream mixture, making sure that the macaroon pieces are evenly distributed.

Pour the ice cream mixture into a 2 pint pudding basin that is suitable for freezing.

Cover and freeze overnight. It needs to be firm before it can be served otherwise it will not hold its shape.

To serve, dip the mould or bowl briefly in warm water, then turn onto a serving plate. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 360 minutes

Yield: 2 - 4 servings