“Without an open minded mind, you can never be a great success.” ~ Martha Stewart

The lovely slices of the watermelon bombe
A friend recently sent me a slideshow with 60 different frozen treat recipes created by none other than Martha Stewart. “60 days of inspiration”, read her note. “Get cracking!” is what went through my mind! Well let me tell you, I scrolled through each of those beautiful creations and my friend was right…I’ve been inspired. So, with an open mind, I set out to make this wonderful watermelon treat.
And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for… the great reveal…
The W-A-T-E-R-M-E-L-O-N B-O-M-B-E!
Was it worth it? No
Will I do it again? No (Actually, maybe yes, but only to perfect the recipe)
Was this Watermelon Bombe a bomb? Emphatic Yes!
Ok. That’s a lot of ranting. Let me qualify the above statements.
In actuality this recipe was beautiful. It worked (even with substantive adaptations) just like Martha said it would. And even though I am a really harsh critic, when I sliced the “watermelon” a very pure, child-like smirk came over my fact. I did it! I have to admit, I was very proud of good ‘ole 365scoops.

Does anyone want a half watermelon?
But there were 2 major hiccups that I couldn’t get over. First, the watermelon sorbet was slightly icy (as any high-water content fruit sorbet would be) and so the watermelon bombe didn’t cut into perfect slices; it crumbled a bit instead. [No one seemed to notice but me, of course.] Second, the white part of the rind (is it the pith?) and the actual rind bled together, and while most people didn’t even notice, I did because I spent three days preparing this beast of a dish and wanted it to go smoothly. So, instead of perfect watermelon slices as depicted in dear Martha’s photos, mine was a little bit more blended and crumbly than I would have liked. (See photos for proof!)
I consider myself really good at following directions, and generally my recipe creations look quite similar to the photo, but this one strayed a bit. Shame. I’m going to blame the fact that Martha’s food photographers probably photoshopped the heck out of her watermelon bombe. That and the fact that Martha is the Queen of Crafts so hers probably just looked better than mine. Plain and simple.
I digress…

A big fat slice of "watermelon"
This watermelon bombe was truly a labor of love. Though it took a bit of time [read: 3 days*] to make, assemble, and serve, it was a really fun project. And though I was complaining a bit incessantly, the finished product was actually beautiful. So there.
*This project took 3 days because I only have one bowl for my ice cream maker, and it takes 18-24 hours for the bowl to freeze, so I could only make 1 flavor a day for three days. Hence the long journey to a grand watermelon bombe.
The Watermelon Bombe
Sorbet and ice cream recipes adapted from David Lebovitz, The Vegan Scoop and Bruce Weinstein.
Ingredients

Step 1: Fill with lime sorbet
1 quart lime sorbet
1 quart vegan vanilla bean ice cream
1 quart watermelon sorbetto
Method
Line a 7″ pyrex or metal mixing bowl with saran wrap.
Immediately after churning the lime sorbet, or after thawing store-bought sorbet (gasp!) for 10 mins, scoop and spread the lime sorbet into an even layer on the interior of the bowl to create the green watermelon rind. You will use the entire quart of sorbet. Cover, move to the freezer and let harden for at least 1 hour.

Step 2: Fill with an even layer of vegan vanilla bean ice cream
Repeat the above with the vegan vanilla bean ice cream. Spread an even layer of the ice cream on top of the lime sorbet to create the watermelon pith (the white part!). There will be a few scoops of ice cream left over. Cover, move to the freezer and let harden for at least 1 hour or overnight.
To finish the watermelon, scoop the watermelon sorbetto into the bowl, making sure to pack it tightly and evenly. Flatten the top and return to the freezer to harden. There will be leftover watermelon sorbetto.
Before serving, soak the bowl in a large bowl of hot water for approximately 20 seconds. Remove the cover, place face down on a serving plate or cutting board and tap the bowl so that the saran wrap releases. If it doesn’t work, you can flip the bowl over, and pull the saran wrap gently to release, and then flip the bowl over again onto the cutting board and the watermelon bombe will come right out.

Step 3: Add the watermelon sorbetto and smooth to make the final layer
Slice the watermelon bombe to look exactly like a watermelon, serve and enjoy!
The Verdict: A for effort. A for execution. B/C for presentation. Not my best showing, but a valiant effort at that. This was truly a beautiful creation, it just didn’t go as swimmingly as trusty Martha’s. But hey, this is the 365scoops version, and for that, I say dig in!