Chocolate Bombe

  1. This is an excellent Christmas special that is very simple and great to get in the bag as you can make it days before the big day. Serves 10-12 For the chocolate sponge: 200g/7oz butter 200g/7oz caster sugar 3 large eggs 200g/7oz self raising flour 1 rounded tsp baking powder 3 rounded tbsp cocoa powder For the filling: 2 x 250g ricotta cheese around 80g/2¾ oz sugar, to taste 1 handful of mixed glace fruit 1 tin of cherries, drained 100g/4oz chocolate, broken up 1 handful of flaked almonds 2 heaped tbsp good coffee beans, bashed up 2 egg whites a good drizzle of Grand Marnier cocoa powder for dusting
  2. Line two 10"/25cm cake tins with greaseproof paper and rub with a little butter. In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs, flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Mix well and divide into the cake tins. Cook for 7 to 8 mins at 180C/350F/Gas 4 until firm but soft.
  3. To make the filling: add the ricotta to a food processor and blitz with the sugar until shiny and smooth.
  4. Scoop into a bowl, add the chopped fruit, cherries, chocolate and almonds and stir together. Now add the coffee to taste (bash the the beans using something heavy wrapped in a tea towel, or use a coffee grinder). Whip the egg whites and fold into the ricotta mix.
  5. Turn out the sponge whilst it's still hot and cut it into 8 wedges. Line a shallow round bowl, about 23cm/9", with two sheets of clingfilm, making sure it fits the shape of the bowl.
  6. Then fit half of the sponge pieces around the insides of the bowl (as you would if it were a summer pudding). Drizzle with Grand Marnier, then pour in the ricotta mix. Level it out, then place the remaining sponge over the top. Drizzle again with Grand Marnier.
  7. Pull the clingfilm over the top and weigh it down with some plates, pushing down on them before placing in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
  8. Serve this semi freddo (semi frozen), dusted with cocoa powder and sliced into wedges. If it's very frozen then that's fine; just pull it out of the fridge when dinner is served so it can slowly thaw as you are eating.
  • Katt 17 Oct, 2008

    Any orange liquer is fine eg Grand Marnier or Cointreau

  • Katt 26 Oct, 2008

    If it's very frozen then that's fine; just pull it out of the fridge when dinner is served so it can slowly thaw as you are eating.

  • Katt 26 Oct, 2008

    There are several variations to this recipe that I have seen. 1 is with 500g ricotta, remaining ingredients stayed about the same. 2 is without egg whites in the ricotta mix.

  • Katt 27 Oct, 2008

    There is no instructions on how to prepare the chocolate. We added it to the ricotta in the food processor and blitzed it until there were only small chunks of chocolate.

  • Verne 27 Oct, 2008

    delicious ingredients... omnomnom

  • Katt 28 Oct, 2008

    We used glace cherries in the end and no coffee since Verne doesn't like it. Absolutely delicious!!!

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