Juliet Sear's ice cream bomb Christmas pudding
A Christmas pudding like no other, and you won’t believe how easy it is! Ice cream encased in chocolate sweets that looks just like the classic pudding, make it now and put it in the freezer for the big day - what could be better?!
Ice cream bomb Christmas pudding
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
2 x 225g chocolate Swiss rolls
50g dark chocolate, melted
150g salted caramel ice cream
350g malt chocolate balls
150g chocolate ice cream
100g double cream
240g - 320g white chocolate balls
For the ganache
75ml double cream
150g dark chocolate, finely chopped
For the topping
3 red sugar coated chocolates or sweets, for the berries
Green fondant (or green sugar paste), rolled and cut into holly leaves with a cutter
Method
1. Butter a 1tr bowl, then line with two strips of greaseproof paper, that makes a cross shape, and then line with cling film
2. Slice up the swiss roll into about 20 pieces, and use to fully line the bowl, using off cuts to fill in any holes. Reserve some of the slices to make the base.
3. Brush the swiss roll with the melted chocolate, reserve the rest to remelt for the base later. Put the bowl in the freezer for roughly 20 minutes.
4. Soften the salted caramel ice cream, then spoon into the swiss roll lined bowl about half the way up approximately
5. Crush 50g of the malt chocolate balls, then cover with a couple of handfuls and press into the ice cream a little. Freeze again until firm.
6. Soften the chocolate ice-cream and fill the rest of the bomb, leaving a little space for the cake base. Brush around the edge with the remaining remelted chocolate and cover over with more slices of cake to make the base. Cover with cling film and push down with your palms to compact it together. Freeze until firm.
7. In the meantime, make the ganache by boiling the double cream and pouring it over the chopped chocolate. Leave it to sit for a couple of minutes under a plate to retain the heat. Then use a wooden spoon and stir it in the centre until the ganache comes together. Cool a little so it becomes a spreadable consistency.
8. Spread a little ganache around the base of the bomb, and quickly push in the malt chocolate balls, working around the base in a circle. Repeat this process, building up the layers to roughly two thirds of the way up. For the top few layers, make the ‘drip’ effect on the pudding, using the white chocolate balls in a rough pattern. Stick these on in the same way with the ganache. Take care with the white ones not to get any chocolate on the front of them.
9. Once the whole thing is finished pop back in the freezer until ready to serve. You can make this up to a couple of weeks ahead if you want to.
10. When ready to serve, stick on the red berries and add the holly using a tiny bit of melted chocolate (or you could use a little icing or edible glue if you prefer). Leave out of the freezer for about 30 mins before serving.