A festive baked Alaska to end your night in a blaze of glory - The Washington Post

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A festive baked Alaska to end your night in a blaze of glory - The Washington Post

A festive baked Alaska to end your night in a blaze of glory - The Washington Post

Posted: 28 Dec 2020 06:50 AM PST

Pastry chefs heard the news, and it wasn't long before fashionable restaurants in Europe and the United States were serving baked or flambéed ice cream desserts, allowing diners to experience warm and toasty meringue and frozen ice cream in the same bite. A spectacle when flamed tableside, its popularity has never really waned. And, it's much easier to make than it looks.

Ice cream, packed into a bowl, is set on a bed of soft cake and under a fluffy blanket of meringue. You could make the ice cream, but buying it is so much quicker. We're suggesting vanilla and chocolate, with bright red candied cherries in between, but use whatever flavors of ice cream or sorbet you like. Pistachio ice cream and raspberry sorbet would make a vibrant combination, as would: chocolate fudge and Cherry Garcia, peanut butter cookie and coconut, peppermint chip and cocoa sorbet, orange sorbet and vanilla ice cream or a spumoni-like swirl of whatever flavors you have in your freezer right now.

You could buy an angel food cake from the grocery store, though a single, short layer of sponge cake can be mixed and baked in minutes. The meringue requires an electric mixer — a whisk, bowl and a whole lot of stamina works too, though I don't recommend it — but it, too, doesn't take much time.

Then, there's the matter of baking the Alaska. As its name implies, the meringue-covered ice cream is traditionally browned in a hot oven. But if you have a propane torch, it makes quick work of toasting the sweet meringue cloud. Finally, with a healthy does of pluck and high-proof alcohol, you can set the whole dessert on fire. It's entirely unnecessary, but ending a night in a blaze of glory can be a whole lot of fun. Find our instructions for all of these variations in the recipe, below.

Though this recipe is designed to serve a smaller crowd, it's easily doubled — use a 3-quart bowl to serve 12 to 18 people.

Scale and get a printer-friendly recipe of the recipe here.

Make ahead: The ice cream bombe can be assembled and frozen for up to 1 week.

Ingredients

For the ice cream filling:

  • 2 pints vanilla ice cream, or another flavor of your choice
  • 8 maraschino cherries, pitted, stemmed and halved (optional)
  • 1 pint chocolate ice cream, or another flavor of your choice

For the cake:

  • Softened, unsalted butter, for greasing the pan
  • 2 large eggs, cold
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup (63 grams) all-purpose flour, sifted

For the meringue:

  • 4 large (120 grams) egg whites
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (220 grams) granulated sugar

For the flames:

  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup (2 to 4 ounces/60 to 120 milliliters) 80-proof (40 percent alcohol by volume) spirit, such as orange-flavored vodka or white rum (See NOTE; optional)

Step 1

Line a 1 1/2-quart bowl, preferably metal, preferably about 7 inches tall with a 7-inch wide opening, with two layers of plastic wrap, enough to overhang all around by at least 3 inches. Place in the freezer.

Step 2

Remove the ice cream from the freezer and let rest at room temperature until it is easy to scoop but not melted, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the bowl from the freezer and, using a soup spoon, scoop the vanilla ice cream into the lined bowl, spreading it on the bottom and sides of the bowl, and pressing it lightly to form a smooth, even layer with a hollow center. Press the maraschino cherries, if using, sporadically into the vanilla ice cream. Fill the center with the chocolate ice cream, pressing lightly to pack ice cream in fairly tightly. Cover with the plastic wrap overhang and return the bowl to the freezer.

Step 3

Make the cake: While the bowl with the ice cream is firming up, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch cake pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Step 4

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt on high speed until pale and very thick, 4 to 6 minutes. (If you are using a hand mixer, it may take a little longer.) Lower the mixer to medium-low, and sprinkle in the flour. Mix for a few seconds and then stop the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour until smooth, taking care not to deflate the batter.

Step 5

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and springs back when lightly pressed in the center. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool slightly. Run a thin knife or spatula around the edge of the cake to loosen it; invert the cake onto a plate or cutting board and discard the parchment paper. Let cool completely.

Step 6

Remove the ice cream bowl from the freezer, and use a small serrated knife to trim the cake to fit snugly over the layers of ice cream. Unwrap the ice cream layers, tuck the trimmed cake into the top, rewrap the ice cream bombe and return it to the freezer for 1 to 3 hours, or until solid, and up to 1 week.

Step 7

Make the meringue: Approximately 15 minutes before serving, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, whisk the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar on medium-high speed until foamy and opaque, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to high and add the sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, until it's all added and meringue is glossy and stiff, 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 8

To assemble: Remove the ice cream bombe from the freezer, use the plastic wrap overhang to help lift it out of the bowl, unwrap it and place it onto a heatproof plate or platter. Discard the plastic wrap. Using a spatula or spoon, spread a 1- to 2-inch thick layer of meringue all over the ice cream and cake, covering it completely. Or, using a piping bag, pipe stars, swoops or other designs over the ice cream, taking care to cover it well. Using a blowtorch with a medium flame, toast the meringue until lightly browned all over. You can serve the dessert as is, or light it on fire, too, if desired.

To light the dessert on fire instead of, or in addition to, torching: In a small, long-handled saucepan over low heat, warm the alcohol just until you can smell its vapors, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Using a long lighter, set the alcohol on fire and immediately pour it carefully over the toasted meringue. The flame will toast the meringue slightly. Depending on how much alcohol you use, it may burn for 1 to 2 minutes. At any point, you can stop the flame by blowing it out.

Alternate instructions for baking: Before taking the ice cream bombe out of the freezer, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 475 degrees. Place the bombe, cake side down, on a large rimmed baking sheet. Make the meringue according to the instructions above, and use it to cover the ice cream completely; the meringue should be at least 1-inch thick all around. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes, or until evenly toasted. Serve right away.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 547; Total Fat: 16 g; Saturated Fat: 10 g; Cholesterol: 116 mg; Sodium: 302 mg; Carbohydrates: 87 g; Dietary Fiber: 1 g; Sugar: 75 g; Protein: 10 g.

Recipe from staff writer G. Daniela Galarza.

Scale and get a printer-friendly recipe of the recipe here.


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