Pâte à bombe

Pâte à bombe is a cooked egg yolk foam. A pastry reference on frozen desserts lists it as one of the foam bases of a parfait, describing it as a cooked egg yolk foam that is cooled to room temperature.

It is made by whisking hot sugar syrup, cooked to the soft ball stage, into beaten egg yolks and continuing to beat until the mixture is thick, pale and cool. A baking text calls this a bombe mixture and uses it as the base for buttercream, where cold butter is beaten in.

Pastry cooks also fold it into whipped cream and melted chocolate to make rich mousses and frozen bombes. It should not be confused with the molded ice cream dessert called a bombe. The cooked syrup gives the foam stability and a smooth, velvety richness.