Our cubs, and their cooking efforts, rose to the occasion on Monday night.  With “air” the theme of the term, we looked at the different ways that air can be powerful – from tornados to bombe Alaska, where air beaten with eggs (and a fair bit of sugar!) makes a toasty blanket for icecream scoops in a hot oven.

A slow to heat oven and only two electric beaters meant that proceedings went a bit slower than intended, but most scouts had an opportunity to leanr how to separate eggs, to make a meringue mix, to apply it to a mini-icecream bombe, and then enjoy the proceeds.   Here is the recipe if you would like to try it at home.   We’ll arrange for a repeat, perhaps next term, and would welcome a couple of parent helpers who could bring their hand held electric egg beater from home.     And let us know if anyone has a great recipe for egg yolks!

BOMBE ALASKA (mini Bombes)

Ingredients (to serve six)

Directions

1. Place biscuits on a small oven tray. Place a teaspoonful of jam on the centre of each biscuit. Roll six equal-sized scoops of ice cream and place one on each biscuit. Transfer to the freezer for at least one hour to harden, or until ready to serve.
2. Heat oven to 200°C then, just before they’re needed, place egg whites in a clean bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Continue beating while adding caster sugar, one tablespoonful at a time. Beat for a few minutes more, until meringue is stiff and glossy.
3. Remove icecream-topped biscuits from the freezer. Spread meringue mixture over icecream to completely cover, then make peaks of mixture if desired.
4. Bake immediately for three to four minutes, or until meringue peaks turn brown. Remove from the oven and serve immediately, before icecream melts.

The key to this dessert is keeping the cake and the ice cream as cold as possible before coating and baking.     Chocolate icecream (or other flavours) can be substituted for the vanilla.   You can use small rounds of cake or sponge instead of the biscuits;  however, the firm biscuit base makes the mini Bombes easier to handle for younger chefs.