Don't we all need a little Alaska right now? Baked Alaska is one of those dishes, like a souflee, that is not difficult but requires precision. You can make this with various types of ice cream (Martha Stewart has a recipe with layered pistachio and cherry) as well as different types of cake (sponge or angel food being the most common). You can also use pastry or whipped cream instead of meringue. For the final "toasted" effect you can bake, broil, or use a hand-held kitchen torch. The sublime effect is the same: the surprise of a layer of warm crispy exterior followed by soft chilled ice cream interior, then finished by a warm mild cake. If you want a lighter version, simply replace the cake with an orange cup.
Baked Alaska
sponge or angel food cake (preferably slightly stale to better absorb), plus 3/4 inch strips to cover ice cream later
(brandy)
meringue (recipe below)
1 1/2 quarts ice cream
Line an oval heatproof dish with a 1/2 inch layer of the cake. Sprikle lightly with brandy, if desired. Quickly form on the cake base a oval mound of the partially softened ice cream. Cover with cake strips until surface is coated to at least 3/4 thickess. Cover the entire surface with piped or spooned meringue. Run under a 500 degree broiler -- not more than 3 minutes -- until browned. Serve at once.
For a l'orange, substitute a hollowed out orange cup for the cake and make sure that the meringue covers the top portion of the orange.
Hi Connie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this recipe. I was thinking about doing a post for Ice Cream Pie Day this week and wanted to include some sort of Baked Alaska link. I'm going to save this link just in case I get to it.
I did a post a while back on the invention of Baked Alaska on my other blog, Tasteful Inventions, I just may add it to that one anyway!
Thanks for sharing...