Panettone ice-cream bombe Alaska

This boozy panettone ice-cream bombe  Alaska is a showstopper dessert and perfect for the Christmas season. It’s virtually effortless to make with no baking required and that catapults it to the top of my list. It’s also exactly how I wanted to celebrate this BIG day and the 10-year anniversary of Drizzleanddip.com. It’s hard to fathom that we are moving into a new decade and I have been pouring my heart and soul into this delicious space for just as long. This website has changed my life and steered me towards my dream career as a food creative. It now holds the potential to sustain me as a self-employed entrepreneur and I am eternally grateful for everything.

It started 10 years ago when I published my first recipe for my quick apricot jam. Inspired by my childhood memories of eating my paternal grandmothers apricot jam. I knew I was hooked the minute I hit publish on that first blog post with the most cringeowrthy dreadful photos. Back in the day, the only reason you created a blog was to share recipes and connect with other like-minded foodies. It was long before I joined Instagram and I couldn’t understand what Twitter was about. The concept of monetizing content did not exist so it was all done out of the sheer passion and joy it brought.

On a very steep learning trajectory and many hours of tearful fits of frustration, I slowly grappled the technical aspects of digital publishing and jumped onto the social media train, growing my following slowly and organically over time. I have met hundreds of people and had amazing adventures through it all. I never expected to ever become a professional photographer, but that was the one area I realized was important to make a success of a food blog. I also fell completely in love with the craft.

On this 10 year journey I’ve published 2 cookbooks, received a couple of awards and gained and lost so many kilograms I wouldn’t be able to calculate them all. I still absolutely love the process of creating a recipe and publishing it here, so I can’t see much changing in the future. I’m hoping to add more classes (of various kinds) to the mix, and to adapt things where necessary.  The world of food blogging has changed and people don’t read blogs the way they used to, but despite often feeling like I’m cooking and baking for Pinterest and Google, I love that Drizzleanddip has become a robust resource of hundreds of recipes. Social media platforms are too unstable to put all your eggs into, so I firmly believe in keeping my URL alive and well.

Thank you for following along and all the support you have given me over the years. I don’t know who you all are, but wherever you are please do say hello to me sometime. I love nothing more than when you do.

You can find me on:

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With much love and gratitude, Sam x

*Notes on the recipe

I got my Panettone from my favourite Italian restaurant and Delis in Joburg called Tortellino D’Oro. It’s a top-quality rendition with fruit. I love that it’s not that sweet so it makes the perfect vessel to house this dessert. Buy the best you can afford and Giovanni’s in Cape Town always has amazing ones.

I’ve used Marsala to give this bombe a festive boozy edge, but you could use Vin Santo, sherry, or any of your favourite liqueurs. For the ice cream, I used Woolworth’s cranberry and pistachio premium ice cream which comes in 1-litre containers and is so creamy, luxurious, and delicious. I think their pistachio ice cream would also be wonderful. You could fold frozen strawberries or a berry coulis through a plain vanilla ice cream to create a berry swirl too. I made a very big bombe because my bowl happened to be huge (26cm width), but if you wanted to make it smaller (20cm), you could get away with using less ice cream.

Substitutions:

I have made this bomb Alaska using chocolate babka instead of panettone which is more affordable and equally delicious. I then use 2 x Woolies 1-litre vanilla bean ice cream tubs with one 200gm bag of chuckles (chocolate coated malted puffs like maltesers) which I chop up and fold through the softened ice cream. It’s a total crowd-pleaser. I sprinkle about 3 – 4 Tbsp of Grand Marnier over the babke to give it a boozy edge.

Recipe – Panettone ice cream bombe baked Alaska

Panettone ice cream bombe baked Alaska

A show-stopping bomb Alaska made mostly with store-bought ingredients.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:15 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 large good quality shop-bought panettone with fruit (or a loaf of chocolate babke)
• 80 – 120ml Marsala or other liqueur such as Grand Marnier optional
• 2 liters of your favourite good quality ice cream 

Italian meringue:

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup caster sugar
• ¼ cup water

Instructions

Make in advance:

• Line your bowl with sheets of cling film and allow them to fold over the side.
• Slice a 2 cm disk off the bottom of the panettone and set aside. Then slice off the top and set aside to eat later with a cup of tea. Cut the rest of the panettone into 2cm thick slices. I found it easiest to do this by first cutting the cake in half and then cutting half crescent-shaped slices. Line the base of the bowl with the slices ensuring the full area is covered. You can break pieces off to fill in any gaps.
• Using a pastry brush, paint the liqueur evenly over the panettone including the 2 cm bottom circle disc you cut off.
• Allow the ice cream to soften a bit and then scoop it into the panettone-lined bowl. Spread to even out. Place the bottom piece on top of the ice cream to seal it off and press down so the sides and bottom are level.
• Fold the cling film over the base and then place it in the freezer to set and freeze solid.
• When you are ready to serve, make the Italian meringue.
• In a small pot, bring 1/2 a cup of sugar and ¼ water to a boil. Once the sugar has dissolved and the water is boiling, let it cook for a further 4 minutes over medium heat.
• While the sugar water is heating, separate the eggs and whisk the whites in a very clean bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat until you have firm peaks. Slowly add the remaining half a cup of caster sugar, one tablespoon at a time while the mixer is still running. Allow about 30 seconds between each additional spoon of sugar added.
• When that is done, pour the boiling sugar water into a steady thin stream while continuing to beat the meringue at full speed. Carry on mixing until the bowl cools down. About 5 minutes.
• When you are ready to serve, take the Ice cream panettone bomb out of the freezer and invert it onto a large serving plate.
• Spread the Italian meringue evenly over the bombe. Using an offset spatula, create a few swirls across the surface. Torch the meringue using a blow torch and serve.
• While you are finishing off the panettone ice cream bomb baked Alaska the ice cream would have softened enough to cut it. Slice with a large sharp knife dipped in boiling water.
• A large bombe will serve 10 - 12 people and a smaller one 6 - 8

Servings: 10 -12

Author: Sam Linsell

Other Christmas Recipe can be found HERE

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