Christmas Ice Cream Bombe

Name: Christmas Ice Cream Bombe
Total time: 8 h
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1l good chocolate ice cream, softened slightly; 1l vanilla ice cream, softened slightly; 100g mixed dried fruit, sultanas, raisins and currants; 3 tbsp dark rum or brandy; 50g glace cherries, halved; 50g dark chocolate, chopped; 2 tbsp orange juice; 100g dark chocolate, for the sauce; 100ml double cream, for the sauce

A make-ahead frozen Christmas centrepiece: chocolate ice cream shell, rum-soaked fruit and vanilla centre.

Vegetarian

Time8 hr
LevelMedium
Costabout £0.95 a head

Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.

10 slices

Ingredients

Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.

1 lgood chocolate ice creamsoftened slightly
1 lvanilla ice creamsoftened slightly
100 gmixed dried fruitsultanas, raisins and currants
3 tbspdark rum or brandy
50 gglace cherrieshalved
50 gdark chocolatechopped
2 tbsporange juice
100 gdark chocolatefor the sauce
100 mldouble creamfor the sauce

Method

1
Soak the dried fruit and cherries in the rum and orange juice for 30 minutes, or overnight if you can.
30 min
2
Line a 1.5 litre pudding basin with two layers of cling film, leaving lots overhanging. Chill the basin in the freezer for 15 minutes.
3
Press the softened chocolate ice cream firmly and evenly up the sides and base of the basin, about 2 cm thick, leaving a hollow in the middle. Freeze for 1 hour until firm.
60 min
4
Mix the soaked fruit, any liquid left, and the chopped chocolate into the softened vanilla ice cream. Spoon into the hollow, pressing down, and level the top.
5
Cover with the overhanging film and freeze for at least 6 hours or up to 2 weeks.
360 min
6
For the sauce, melt the 100 g dark chocolate with the cream over a low heat, stirring until glossy.
7
Turn the bombe out onto a cold plate, peel off the film and leave for 5 minutes. Slice with a hot knife and pour over the warm sauce.

Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.