Masterchef Challenges: BOMB ALASKA!!!

So... I'm back! After a few week/months of Masterchef withdrawal I'm back with a vengeance (that might sound a bit harsh, but seems like the saying is quite fitting) Unfortunately I have been lagging a bit with blogging a few of my other recipes, there was the golf course cake, basketball jersey cakes, the occasional cake or tart and not to mention the ever so famous chocolate brownies, but now I'm ready for some more exciting challenges, and with uni exams fast approaching, what better what than to distract myself by spending the day in the kitchen!

To kick it all off again I'm starting with the Bomb Alaska, most recently seen on the masterchef pressure test episode! In short, it is a sponge cake filled with ice-cream surrounded by meringue! (However this particular one was filled with coconut ice-cream and cherry sorbet...mmmmhmm) Seeing as I don't actually have an Ice-cream machine, this meant I had to make the coconut icecream and sorbet the day before and whisk it every hour for 5 hours!
It took me a while to realise that the reason the sorbet wasn't setting properly or as fast I expected was because I had actually forgotten to add the egg white, but luckily I got it whisked in in time. Considering that I didn't have the recipe, I decided to make each seperate component as it's basic recipe to make things easier.

The ice-cream is a simple mixture of cream, milk, sugar, vanilla eggs, and I added the toasted coconut for a little extra flavour, whilst the sorbet is a basic sugar, cream and fruit puree (not to forget to egg white).
Did I mention that the fruit puree required me to single-handedly pit each cherry (whilst wearing a white top.. not the smartest idea!), puree it in a blender and sieve it to give it a smooth consistency!

Once those were set in the fridge overnight all that was left to do was make the sponge cake, meringue topping and assemble the whole thing! Sounds easy, no?

The sponge cake, a basic eggs, sugar, flour and butter mixture - whisked for 10 minutes to keep it light and fluffy, was so delicious that my mum and I nearly ate half the cake when it came out the oven! It's important to leave it to cool before u shape it and put the ice-cream in, otherwise it will melt the ice-cream. With all the components finished, and the bowl lined with glad wrap, I was ready to assemble!

The sponge cake is cut into thick strips and line the inside of the bowl, and then fill the inside with the icecream, leaving a small dip in the top to finish off with the sorbet! All topped with a round piece of the sponge cake, weighted down and popped into the freezer to set in shape! After 3 hours setting in the fridge, it was down to the final touch's to complete the dish!

The set cake and ice-cream mould was very carefully removed from the bowl, if it splits or cracks then disaster strikes and it's quite impossible to surround with the meringue to blowtorch it. Luckily, it came out perfectly with a little push, and working fast to ensure the ice-cream inside didn't melt, I attempted to neatly cover it in the Italian meringue mixture, forming some nice swells so that it looks nice after being blow-torched!

My favourite part to finish it off was using the blow-torch to create the golden colour and slightly cook the meringue so it had that nice coating with a gooey inside!

Finally it was all complete, but the true test came when it was cut open, whether the ice-cream or sorbet had melted, and if the layers had all remained separate!

A sigh of relief, as I cut through the cake and it infact looked damn good! Can't say it lasted very long though, with all those hungry faces staring at it as I cut each slice, it was all gone within 10 minutes!