going bananas
Recipe: chocolate banana bombes
It’s easy to catch sunset. You start to notice the light softening and getting longer (in terms of wavelength λ – actually what happens is that the shorter wavelengths are getting kicked out by scattering off the atmosphere) and there are all these signs that it’s going to happen so you have time to get ready. Sunrise is another matter. Sunrise happens backwards and you start in the dark. In winter, you start in the dark and cold and lonely because everyone, including the dog, is snoring away under the covers still happily chasing bunnies in dreamland. Tons of people catch sunset, but not as many catch sunrise. Sunrise is glorious and I usually witness it alone, but it’s lovely to share with others too. I like sunrise because it’s the beginning of the day and I love beginnings. It means the long winter night is over, or it means you have a little peace before the mosquitoes of alpine summer begin to stir (and bite!). Sunrise can be quiet, peaceful, pensive. It also feels like opportunity. I’m feeling it!
pink light of sunrise ignites the tips of our lofty high peaks
If you will recall I discovered the joys of single-ingredient ice cream a while back. I finally found a way to use up overripe bananas as well as make a non-dairy ice cream alternative that is healthy and pretty creamy. It got me thinking about chocolate-dipped frozen bananas and how I had a lot of trouble eating those as a kid because the bananas were frozen solid like a rock. I wanted something similar, but easier to consume.
you just need some chocolate chips
i prefer to temper the chocolate
Okay, I just wanted an excuse to use my bombe molds. They’re so cute and whenever you give someone a bombe, a smile spreads across their face. You don’t have to temper the chocolate, but if you do it winds up with a beautiful sheen and snap. Just a note based on my experience – if you temper the chocolate it’s easiest with a minimum of one pound of chocolate even though you’ll only need a fraction of that amount for the actual coating. The heat capacity of a smaller amount is just too low to maintain a steady working temperature for very long.
paint the bombe molds with three coats
chop some peanuts
These days when I have a couple of bananas beyond the point of ripeness for eating, I slice them up and toss them into a big ziploc bag and freeze them. This is quite handy for making a batch of single-ingredient ice cream on demand. I let them thaw just a tad before whirring them up in the food processor.
ah, my overripe frozen sliced bananas
blending in the food processor
finally smooth and creamy banana “ice cream”
The thing with bombes is that they are usually filled with something that sets – mousse, ice cream, single-ingredient ice cream… So it’s best to have the coating completed and dried/hardened on the bombe molds before you start making the filling. The reason is that once you have made the filling, you will want to pipe it into the bombe molds pretty much right away. A pastry bag makes the process fast and neat. If you take too long noodling about, the ice cream becomes a little frothy and weird. Top it off with some chopped peanuts and gently press them down into the ice cream. Set in the freezer.
stuffing it into my pastry bag
pipe the banana ice cream into each shell
top with peanuts
Take care when unmolding the bombes. They flip out with gusto! You definitely want to unmold them when they are completely frozen or else you may crack the delicate chocolate shell if the insides are soft. You can unmold them and put them back in the freezer too. Before serving, I’d let them thaw a little because the ice cream is fairly hard when it freezes. It only takes about ten minutes or so depending on your ambient temperature. And there you will have, in essence, a chocolate-dipped frozen banana… but cuter.
serve partially thawed
Chocolate Banana Bombes
[print recipe]
1 pound semi-sweet chocolate, chopped or chips, tempered
1 batch single-ingredient ice cream
1/2 cup toasted peanuts, chopped
Brush tempered chocolate on the insides of twelve 2 3/4-inch silicone hemisphere molds. When the first layer has cooled and hardened, brush another layer. Repeat until there are three or four layers of chocolate. Let cool and set aside. [This is when you would make the banana ice cream.] Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch piping tip with the banana ice cream. Pipe each mold full of ice cream to the edge (don’t go over, it will look funky when you serve it). Sprinkle chopped peanuts over the ice cream and gently press the peanuts down into the banana without drowning them. Place in freezer until the ice cream is completely frozen through. Carefully release the bombes from their molds when ice cream is frozen solid. To serve, let thaw for 5-10 minutes or until ice cream yields under moderate pressure. Makes 12 bombes.
January 27th, 2011 at 12:40 am
these look perfectly amazing!
I so need to get some of those molds… each time you use them I am jealous :) we just enjoyed some of our single ingredient ice cream… YUM.
January 27th, 2011 at 2:00 am
These are so awesome! And they remind me of an “ice cream” dessert Son’s uncle made for us while we were in Vietnam… I think I shall have to do some experimenting, because now I’m craving it. :D
January 27th, 2011 at 3:36 am
This is genius…
January 27th, 2011 at 5:59 am
I can taste one right about now. Thanks for sharing!
January 27th, 2011 at 6:17 am
Holy Toledo! These look like the “bombe”! Quite brilliant. Cannot wait to try these. Thanks for posting this!
January 27th, 2011 at 6:35 am
I need to try these right away so I guess that means I will be purchasing a bomb mold….today!! Thank you!
January 27th, 2011 at 7:00 am
WOWZERS, these look fantastic! WHat kind of mold is that? I would like to order some.Thanks!
January 27th, 2011 at 7:08 am
There’s a dessert I wouldn’t feel guilty about…at all.
January 27th, 2011 at 7:09 am
WOW! These look so good! Awesome idea.
I wish I had moulds like that so I could make these myself.
January 27th, 2011 at 7:30 am
Chocolate, ice cream, bananas, peanuts in a bite size. This has got to be on the list of perfect foods.
January 27th, 2011 at 7:58 am
This looks AMAZING. I’ve made the single ingredient ice-cream before, and put in a spoonful of peanut butter and honey towards the end, and it was awesome. I love the bombe mold idea. These look adorable!
January 27th, 2011 at 8:10 am
omg, sell those bombs!!
gosh, such a gorgeous sunrise, I’m so happy that you live in there. Because that means we can visit you and experience it too!! hahah *selfish* ;)
January 27th, 2011 at 8:43 am
I love this idea! My daughter would love these too; she’s a banana fiend.
What a glorious, peaceful sunrise…you can almost “hear” the quiet and stillness in that picture.
January 27th, 2011 at 8:56 am
These look so awesome! Yum!!
January 27th, 2011 at 9:01 am
Brilliant!!!!!!!! :-)
January 27th, 2011 at 9:15 am
yummmmy!!
January 27th, 2011 at 9:18 am
These make me want to throw a party! But first, I have to dash over to Sur la Table for a bombe mold.
January 27th, 2011 at 10:27 am
I’d love to have these in my next party. They look very inviting in the dinning table or as snack around the house.
January 27th, 2011 at 11:37 am
How exactly does one pronounce “bombe?” Is it just “bomb,” “bom-bay,” or… “bom-buh?” tee-hee…
January 27th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Adorable and accessible. Perfect.
January 27th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
I totally want to make these… so cute!
January 27th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
my 3 favorite flavors combined… da bomb indeed!
January 27th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Chocolate+Banana=YumCity!
January 27th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Dammit Jen, I’ve wanted one of those molds ever since you first posted about bombes and they looked incredible. You just pushed me over the edge. It will be a birthday gift to myself from myself :)
January 27th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Oh dear, I’m afraid I can actually make these without a goof – there goes the post-holiday diet!
January 27th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
Oh, my gosh. I love this idea. Chocolate and banana are a match made in heaven. Throw in some peanut butter, and I’m drooling.
January 27th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Amazing dessert Jen! What a brilliant idea you came up with! But what do you do with the leftover tempered chocolate?
January 27th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
genius, that’s what you are. A bombe would sure put a smile on my face.
January 28th, 2011 at 4:02 am
Oh my to wake up to such a lovely vision that gets my taste buds going is pure pleasure. While reading this wonderful recipe I think I have gained three pounds. LOL Thanks Jen I just might try this one also, plus the chinese almond cookies. Paulette
January 28th, 2011 at 7:16 am
Totally RAD! I love those and they are so cute, simple ingredients really, too. Thanks so much for sharing & how I love your nature photos, they bring peace to the core of my soul.
January 28th, 2011 at 8:37 am
These look delicious! And your sunrise almost made me cry – my boyfriend and I went skiing at Breckenridge last March, and that picture put me right back there for a few seconds. So wish I was there now!
January 28th, 2011 at 10:54 am
Being & Butter (& Bacon) kind of gal, I stumbled upon your web site within the last couple of months. It didn’t take me long to realize that you’re in my neighborhood! In fact, I even had noticed one of the interestingly-shaped clouds in the sky myself whose photo you posted recently, but I saw it before the sunset had gotten ahold of it! And now I see that you’re on the Denver Botanic Garden Bonfils Workshop Schedule for this October. Why-oh-why did it take me so long to find you?! And I, too, say “do what you need to do”…but already I would miss your Blog!
January 28th, 2011 at 11:07 am
my kids would LOVE those, and even tho i hate bananas, they look interesting enough that my curiosity would win out and i would try them, lol. beautiful sunrise.
January 28th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
This is a great alternative to baking banan bread, which is where my old bananers end up! Would you put a layer of chocolate over the nuts – or use cookie crumbs? That would be awesome :)
January 28th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
I gotta get me some of those molds—so fun!
January 28th, 2011 at 5:48 pm
Wow, these look fantastic! yummie!
January 28th, 2011 at 6:42 pm
those molds look awesome, and what a fabulous treat :)
January 29th, 2011 at 7:28 am
Holy moly! I love the bomb mold, how cool is that? The chocolate and banana combo sounds delish! Great post!
January 29th, 2011 at 11:14 am
What an awesome idea! I have recently been forced to be dairy free and this would be a great dessert.
January 29th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
I loved your single-ingredient ice cream and I’m sure I will love these lovelies even more!
January 29th, 2011 at 3:03 pm
I was just thinking about that banana ice cream like two minutes ago, and then, voila! Here it is, all wrapped in chocolate! Thank heavens!
January 30th, 2011 at 7:51 am
loved sunrise/sunset in terms of lambda :) and the tiny bombes look super cute!
January 30th, 2011 at 8:35 am
[…] Kofta would have to wait for another day, I head on over to another one of my favorite food blogs, Use Real Butter. Oh, look, I can make ice cream using only bananas! Hey Peder–I can make ice cream using […]
February 1st, 2011 at 2:20 am
any idea where can i get my hands on those moulds? would love to try this recipie out one day!
February 2nd, 2011 at 7:10 am
JUST PERFECT !!!!
February 2nd, 2011 at 7:11 am
that is so irresistible !!! yummy
February 2nd, 2011 at 8:35 am
Just found this through Photograzing… LOVE this recipe!
February 2nd, 2011 at 11:19 pm
Sunrise is a reward from the universe for waking up early!
February 3rd, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Banana fudge bombs were my favorite popsicle to order from the icecream man when he made the old neighborhood rounds when I was a kid. Your recipe looks delicious.
February 11th, 2011 at 10:20 am
The brand of my silicone bombe molds is gastroflex. I love them
Diane – come on over :)
Crystal – I think it sounds like bomb, with a lingering uh on the “b” but not too much ;)
Annie – yay and happy birthday!!
Pei Lin – Right after I’m done with the chocolate, I will scrape the rest out onto parchment paper and let it cool (because it’s still in temper). Then when it’s completely hardened, I store it for use later (like in mousse, cake, etc.)
heather – you could! You could do anything you wanted.
Queenie – I think a few places online carry them. Search for gastroflex silicone bombe molds
February 16th, 2011 at 12:08 am
Ooooh, I love these! Such a great use for banana icecream (which, btw is brilliant).