White Chocolate and Raspberry Frozen Mousse Bombes Recipe

Mousse bombes are an easy way to pack a multi-component dessert into an elegant, clean package.

By
Lauren Weisenthal
Lauren Weisenthal is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Lauren Weisenthal
Lauren Weisenthal was the author of the Pie of the Week and Sweet Technique columns for Serious Eats. From 2017–2021, she ran a restaurant called The Nightingale in Vinalhaven, Maine.
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Updated October 11, 2023
White chocolate and raspberry frozen mousse bombe plated with raspberry sauce.

Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

Why It Works

  • Using gelatin in the mousse will help it hold its shape.
  • Virtually any cake sponge baked in a flat sheet can be used (or, alternatively, a flourless meringue-based cookie).
  • For best appearance, cut the round of cake exactly to the size of the bombe's footprint.

If you're ever in the mood to put together a fancy dessert at home, mousse bombes are a fantastic way to go. They satisfy my craving for many things at once; a little cake, a little frozen mousse, and a surprise bit of fresh fruit, jelly, or nuts. Best of all, they have a gorgeous, smooth shell of chocolate that looks as beautiful as it tastes, giving you the dramatic payoff of a plated dessert with just a little effort. These are the perfect thing for people who love customizing their treats. Don't like white chocolate? Simply use milk or dark—just temper the chocolate first to prevent white streaks from forming. Have a great recipe for a salted caramel mousse? Have at it! When you consider all of the different flavor variations for the cake, mousse, hidden surprise, and the shell, the combinations are more dizzying than a trip to Sixteen Handles. Only with these, the end product is guaranteed to look elegant and refined.

The silicone dome molds for making bombes are affordable. Get one, then let your imagination go as you plan flavor combinations for your own mousse bombes.

This recipe features a creamy white chocolate mousse, some hidden raspberries, and a dark chocolate cake, encased in a white chocolate shell. An easy raspberry sauce really ties the dish together for balance and visual appearance.

When making frozen mousse bombs, here are some tips to consider:

  • If making the shells with milk or dark chocolate, tempering the chocolate will prevent white streaks from forming.
  • Mousse that contains gelatin is ideal to help it hold its shape as the bombe melts a bit.
  • Virtually any cake sponge baked in a flat sheet can be used (or, alternatively, a flourless meringue-based cookie).
  • For best appearance, cut the round of cake exactly to the size of the bombe's footprint.

February 2012

Recipe Details

White Chocolate and Raspberry Frozen Mousse Bombes Recipe

Prep 35 mins
Cook 15 mins
Active 60 mins
Cooling Time 4 hrs 45 mins
Total 5 hrs 35 mins
Serves 6 bombes

Ingredients

For the Shells:

  • 4 ounces white chocolate, melted and tempered

For the Cake:

  • 8 ounces butter

  • 10 ounces sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 3 yolks

  • 2 ounces cocoa

  • 8.25 ounces all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 8.5 ounces buttermilk

For the Mousse:

  • 5.25 ounces white chocolate

  • 2 ounces heavy cream

  • 1 teaspoon gelatin, bloomed in 2 tablespoons water

  • 1 pinch salt

  • 2 egg yolks

  • 6 ounces heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks and chilled

  • Frozen raspberries for the center

For the Raspberry Sauce:

  • 16 ounces frozen raspberries

  • 4 ounces granulated sugar

Directions

  1. To Prepare the Molds: Place dome mold sheet onto a sheet pan. Using a pastry brush, paint melted, tempered chocolate evenly on surface of each mold cavity, making sure chocolate goes straight to the edge. Place molds into fridge to set.

  2. To Prepare the Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Make an X with butter on surface of a rimmed baking sheet, then line it with parchment. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl periodically. Add eggs and yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Sift dry ingredients together. Turn mixer down to low speed and add half of the dry ingredients, followed by half the buttermilk. Mix on low until just incorporated, then add rest of the dry ingredients and buttermilk and mix until just incorporated. Remove bowl from stand mixer and finish mixing by hand with a large rubber spatula. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread it out evenly with an offset spatula.

  3. Bake cake for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating halfway through, until tester inserted into center comes out clean and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan. Allow cake to cool for 15 minutes in pan, then run paring knife around edges. Place a piece of parchment on cake, followed by an inverted sheet pan, then turn cake upside down. Gently peel back top parchment from cake and allow cake to rest for 10 minutes before punching out circles with round cutter the same size as mold cavities.

  4. To Prepare the Mousse: In a large bowl set over simmering water, melt white chocolate. Add the 2 ounces of cream a little at a time, stirring until mixture becomes smooth and warm to the touch. Melt bloomed gelatin in microwave (stop every 15 seconds to check) and stir into chocolate mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and salt, then gradually whisk it into chocolate mixture. Continue whisking chocolate mixture for 1 minute over double broiler, then remove bowl from heat. Place bowl in fridge to cool to room temperature (mixture should be neither warm nor cold, about 20 minutes). Whisk firmed chocolate mixture to smooth it out. Stir 1/4 of the chilled whipped cream into chocolate mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in remaining cream.

  5. To Assemble the Bombes: Place mousse in a piping bag and pipe it into each chilled chocolate mold, taking care to only fill just to the top. Place a raspberry or two into each bombe and smooth mousse over top. Place a circle of cake over each mold and gently press cake into mousse. Place sheet pan of molds in freezer and allow them to set for at least 4 hours.

  6. To Make the Sauce: Place frozen raspberries and sugar in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. As raspberries begin to melt, stir to help break them up. When fruit begins to simmer, remove from heat. Press fruit pulp and juice through a fine-mesh strainer. Discard seeds and chill sauce.

  7. To Serve: Place a tablespoon of sauce onto each plate. Create a design by dragging the back of a spoon through sauce. Loosen edges of bombes, then turn each cavity inside out to unmold them. Let bombes sit for 20 minutes to allow cake time to thaw, then carefully place bombes onto prepared plates and serve.

Special Equipment

3-inch silicone dome molds, rimmed baking sheets, stand mixer, 3-inch round cutter, piping bag, saucepan

Notes

The cake recipe is meant to fit in a standard jelly roll pan, and you will have leftovers. If you have a half-sized sheet pan, you may cut the recipe in half.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
1220 Calories
67g Fat
140g Carbs
19g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 1220
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 67g 86%
Saturated Fat 39g 197%
Cholesterol 384mg 128%
Sodium 775mg 34%
Total Carbohydrate 140g 51%
Dietary Fiber 8g 28%
Total Sugars 99g
Protein 19g
Vitamin C 21mg 103%
Calcium 254mg 20%
Iron 7mg 38%
Potassium 452mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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