Boma's Zebra Domes
Disney theme parks have their iconic treats (think Dole Whips and Mickey Bars), but the Disney World resorts have theirs as well. One of the most well-known and documented of these is the coffee-kahlua flavored Zebra Dome made famous by Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Boma Restaurant.
Animal Kingdom Lodge's Boma Restaurant
While these take a while (many ingredients and even more steps) to make, the outcome is pretty extravagant. I’ve often found that people either passionately love these little desserts or vehemently hate them. You rarely find someone in between!
These are great to make for your next dinner party, or, if you’re wild and crazy, for your 4th of July Barbecue! (You KNOW that’s what you were thinking! Be honest!)
Now, the flexipan domes the recipe calls for seem really expensive! Does anyone have any good alternatives?
Where to Find ‘Em
Zebra Domes are a staple at Boma, a table-service buffet restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge (call 407-WDW-Dine for reservations). But due to popular demand, you can also purchase them in the quick service location, The Mara, as a grab-and-go item.
Zebra Domes Grab-and-Go at The Mara
Recipe
1 pound milk chocolate
¼ cup espresso coffee
5 egg yolks
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
6 sheets gelatin
½ cup Kahlua Liqueur
4 cups heavy cream
¾ cup white chocolate ganache
¼ cup dark chocolate ganache
sponge cake (store-bought or your favorite recipe)
1. Melt milk chocolate.
2. Whip heavy cream to soft peaks.
3. Mix yolks with sugar.
4. Soften gelatin leaves in cold water.
5. Mix gelatin with Kahlua and coffee. Set bowl over hot water bath to dissolve the gelatin.
6. Fold ⅓ of whipped cream into the chocolate.
7. Add the yolks, then the gelatin mixture.
8. Fold in the rest of the cream.
9. Pour mousse in flexipan domes almost to the top.
10. Place sponge circle (¼” thick yellow cake cut in a circle) on top. Leave in the freezer to set.
11. Once hard, unmold and place in glazing racks.
12. Make white chocolate ganache and chocolate ganache.
13. Put chocolate ganache in a pastry bag. Ladle white chocolate ganache to cover each dome. Simultaneously, pipe a stripe design of chocolate ganache over the dome.
14. Refrigerate to allow the glaze to set.
15. Decorate the bottom edge with coffee crunch.
16. Place a chocolate covered coffee bean on the center of each dome.
Note: One sheet of gelatin is equal to one teaspoon of unflavored powdered gelatin dissolved in ¼ cup of water.
The Mara photo courtesy of AKLResort.com.
Recipe from Key Ingredient. Also, here’s a good ganache recipe just in case you don’t have one handy… .
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I can’t believe I’ve not tried this yet. Chocolate is my friend! Thanks for the recipe.
You bet! It looks like a tough recipe (I haven’t tried it yet either!), so I admire your ambition! Would love to see pictures if you get around to it!
I have just found your excellent site via Twitter. Boma is one of my favorite restaurants and it is great to see this recipe here. It does look a bit difficult though! No wonder they taste so good
I love Boma, too! Be sure to check out the blog about the Jiko and Boma Culinary Tour! That was a lot of fun…and free, too
Thanks for your comment!
A few things I learned about this recipe.
1st – the actual zebra domes have Amarula liquior, not Kahula, as simply stated on the label placed on each container of them, Amarula was easy to find at the liquor store. I do not think they taste the same at ALL, Amarula is a fruity caramel, not coffee.
2nd- The flexi-domes suggested in this recipe are way larger than the actual ones, the ones suggested here are almost the size of a regular cupcake. The real ones are more like a mini-cupcake. If you can find a mini cupcake silicon pan, do so. Then you can still turn the pan over and push them out.
3rd – You need the gelatin sheets, the sub does not work, since you need 6 teaspoons of powered gel you will need to dissolve that into 1 1/2 cups of water, which adds too much watery volume to the mix, no matter how delicately you fold the whipped cream to the chocolate, adding the watery mix deflates the whipped cream no matter what you do. The first time we made the full recipe it filled 2 sheets of mini cupcake pans and 2 full sheets of regular cupcake pans, way too much. Before I make these again I will have to purchase the gel sheets online, can not find them anywhere.
4th – The domes were not garnished with coffee crunch, it was chocolate confetti.
5th – If you are trying this for the 1st time, start with trying to make 1/2 or 1/3 a batch.
Hope that helps
Wonderful points, Shanna! Thank you so much for commenting!
Thank you so much to everyone! I love these things — the Mara is always my first stop at Disney so I can get some of these!
I found some silicone pans at amazon — they are called “World Cuisine Nonstick Silicone Mold, Mini.” I do not know if they are the right size, but at $19.95, they are far more affordable than the others I’ve found. I also think that perhaps Sur La Table sells something similar, but I would suspect it is far more expensive.
Here is the link to the pan — happy baking!
http://www.amazon.com/World-Cuisine-Non-Stick-Silicone-Hemisphere/dp/B001AS44KI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2NWYRG7OCEG1F&colid=2BPL5BMDDUH2V
Thanks Su!
I just made this recipe, just 2 weeks after my trip to Disney World (and after eating many, many Zebra Domes to reference!). Let me say, this recipe is great!! My mom, husband, and I all think this is spot on to the ones you’ll find in Animal Kingdom Lodge!
Just a few notes:
1. This recipe makes a TON of the mousse. It filled my entire 5 qt. mixing bowl. (I decided to freeze 2 ziplocs for future use; hopefully, it will be still be good in a few weeks!).
2. I used espresso from an actual espresso maker. I don’t know if this makes a difference, but I thought I’d note it.
3. Shanna was right about the Amarula liqueur — it is perfect. Amarula is actually from South Africa, so it makes sense that you’d only find these treats at Animal Kingdom Lodge!
4. I used homemade ladyfingers for the sponge cake. I think it was a good match for the needed sponge cake! I don’t know if the store-bought ones would be as good, but with all the work and effort you’re putting into the mousse, you might as well have fresh ladyfingers and make them yourself! Here is the recipe I used (I piped them in a circle on a silpat): http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ladyfingers/Detail.aspx
5. I used Ghirardelli chocolate for all types of chocolate (milk chocolate chips, bittersweet baking, and white baking). Turned out wonderfully!
6. If you make these for a party, set aside an entire evening for making them — (especially if you make the ladyfingers from scratch).
7. After you have frozen the domes to set them, you have to pop them out of the silicone pans immediately after taking them out of the freezer, otherwise the mousse will thaw and they won’t be as easy to remove.
I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I have! Thanks so much to Disney Food Blog for posting the recipe (especially with the Amarula suggestion) so that I can enjoy my favorite food from Disney World anytime!
Su, this is great! Thank you so much for the notes and highlights from your experience making the zebra domes, as well as for the ladyfingers recipe. Great idea!