Baked Alaska is a favorite dessert of my youngest sister who blogs over at Ita Vita: Such is Life in Africa.
Many of you who read all my posts know that her family came home for a couple of months to recuperate from a traumatic attack. Since it was her birthday on Sunday, all of us who live in the area gathered to celebrate with her. She asked for Baked Alaska for dessert, and my mom delegated that to me.
I had never made Baked Alaska before. I found that it is not necessarily hard to make, but you cannot wait until the last minute as there are definite steps that take time to set before you can continue.
This dessert gets it’s name as it looks like an igloo after it is completely made, and there is meringue which hides some ice cream. Fun! It is a dessert that is perfect for summer as it has ice cream, and it is perfect for winter as it looks like there is snow and you have to turn on your oven to make the bottom layer and to do the meringue.
Here is how you make Baked Alaska:
- Prepare the bottom layer. Either make an 8″ or a 9″ round cake or brownie for the bottom layer. My sister wanted brownie on the bottom, which is fine; but it is harder to cut through later. I put my brownies in a 8″ round cake pan as that is what I had, and I put the extra brownie mix in an 8″ square pan. I used my homemade brownie recipe which makes a large 13″ x 9″ pan normally.
- After the cake or brownie cools, remove it from the pan and place it on a pizza pan or oven safe round pan that is at least 12″ round. I had put parchment paper on the bottom of my cake pan so that my brownie was easy to remove from the pan.
- Cover cake or brownie layer with aluminum foil and freeze it so that it is hard and will not break easily.
Take your favorite ice cream let it soften a little, scoop some into a a bowl that is rounded on the bottom that is about the same size on the top as your cake pan. (I had probably about 6- 8 cups of ice cream in my bowl, but you will want to use at least 4 cups of ice cream.) Level the top of the ice cream so that it is smooth and straight.- After ice cream is frozen solid again, take a hot knife (I ran it under hot water) and go around the edge of the ice cream to loosen it from the side of the bowl. Then tip the ice cream upside down on top of the cake layer. (I had to also runs a little of the hot water on the outside of the ceramic bowl I was using as my ice cream did not want to come out.)
- Place back into the freezer to get the ice cream very solid again.
- Top with meringue (recipe below). Spread the meringue on the sides and top of the ice cream and cake layer.
- Bake at 450° for 3-5 minutes (until the meringue is getting to have golden brown spots.)
- Cut and serve immediately. Place leftover Baked Alaska in the freezer.
Recipe for Meringue:
If you used 4 cups of ice cream:
- Pre-heat oven to 450°. Make sure oven rack is low enough to put in the Baked Alaska.
- Beat 4 egg whites and 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar until it starts to get stiff. SLOWLY add 1/2 cup sugar as you continue to beat the egg whites. When meringue is very stiff so that you it will stand in peaks, scoop meringue out with a spatula and put all over the ice cream and brownie. Bake immediately.
If you used 6-8 cups of ice cream, prepare as above except use 6 egg whites, 3/16 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 3/4 cup sugar.
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What a special dessert. Amy has good taste. Anything with ice cream has to be good. Maybe I will try to make it someday.
Amy does have good taste! We always knew she was smart. 🙂
I always wondered how Baked Alaska was made. I might have to try this.
It sounds harder than it is! It is rather cool to see the “igloo”!
That looks SO delicious! I’ve never tried Baked Alaska, but considering that brownies are my all time favorite dessert, I guess I need to test it out!
The recipe called for cake, but we like brownies better too!
Thanks for hosting again! Great Alaska recipe…pinned baking recipes to Top Bakers group board.
Thanks so much for the pin!
This looks amazing!! I’ve never had Baked Alaska before but have heard so much about it. Now I REALLY want to try it 🙂 Yum!!
Try it! Let me know how it works out if you do1
I made a Baked Alaska in Home Ec class in school and it was delicious. Never tried one since. Yours looks fabulous!
This was a first for me although my mom had made it several times. She found the recipe in an OLD cookbook.
I’ve heard of Baked Alaska, but never knew what it was until your post. Looks awfully tasty!
Thanks! It wasn’t as hard as I thought, and it went fast!
Thanks for linking up! I hope you get to try it.
I didn’t realize your sister was home. I remember the shock and sadness reading about her tragic attack. I must have missed your posts talking about her return while I was away. When I came back online after my extended holiday I didn’t ever get to go back through everyone’s posts I missed. Anyway, you must have been thrilled to see her and I’m sure this dessert was a fabulous welcome home gift :). I have to pin this even though I’m trying to eat healthier right now. Like you said earlier, it’s not like I’ll make it too much, but it will be a perfect special occasion treat. Thanks! Continued prayers for your sister and her family.
Yum!!! This looks so so so good! Thank you for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.