No matter how much you indulge in the main Christmas feast, there's always a special compartment reserved for dessert. This festive season, Australian culinary experts Courtney Roulston and Michael Weldon have crafted two spectacular, fruit-filled treats designed to be the grand finale of your holiday table.
Fruit Mince Pie Ice Cream Bombe: A Festive Twist
This stunning centrepiece combines classic Christmas flavours in a frozen delight. The recipe requires just 10 minutes of active prep time, followed by four hours of freezing, and generously serves eight people.
You'll need two litres of vanilla ice cream, softened for about 30 minutes. The star ingredient is a 350-gram pack of Coles Finest Brown Butter & Jamaican Rum Fruit Mince Pies, which are chopped into small pieces and folded through the ice cream.
The mixture is pressed into a cling film-lined bowl and frozen solid. For the magic finishing touch, a simple glaze of 150 grams of dark chocolate buttons and two teaspoons of coconut oil is melted and poured over the unmolded bombe. It's finally garnished with toasted slivered almonds, fresh cherries, and a dusting of icing sugar.
Mango, Berry and Cherry Baked Alaska
For a dessert that brings the drama, the duo's Baked Alaska is a showstopper. It layers mango and blueberry sorbet with chopped glacé cherries and slices of jam roll, all encased in a pillowy, torched Italian meringue.
The process involves creating a sorbet base, frozen in layers. The key technique is making the meringue by boiling a cup of sugar with half a cup of water to 116 degrees Celsius. This hot syrup is then slowly whipped into three egg whites (with a teaspoon of white vinegar) until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Once the frozen base is turned out, the cool meringue is piped over it and toasted with a blowtorch for that classic, caramelised finish. The chefs recommend serving immediately, cutting wedges with a hot knife for the perfect slice.
Bringing Festive Flair to Your Table
These recipes from Roulston and Weldon prove that the Christmas dessert course can be both fun and flavour-packed. By incorporating fresh fruit, ice cream, and traditional festive spices, they offer a modern take on holiday classics that are sure to impress your guests. Whether you choose the rich, spiced bombe or the vibrant, fruity Baked Alaska, you're adding a memorable finale to your Christmas celebration.
