Baked Alaska

By cookism

Baked Alaska is one of those desserts that are light on the tongue but difficult to forget. The combination of fluffy meringue and decadent ice cream atop a springy sponge is an out-of-this-world explosion of flavour and texture. This stately dish is also a sight to behold with its beautifully layered core. Go ahead, help yourself to a slice of heaven.

Ingredients

• For Italian Meringue:
• 4 cups ice cream of your choice
• 4 slices pound cake discs (1cm thick, 8cm wide)
• 1 tbsp rum
• 2 tbsp caramel sauce
• 4 egg whites
• 200 g caster sugar
• 75 ml water

Details

Servings 2
Adapted from cookism.tumblr.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Spoon ice cream into four 8cm ramekins lined with plastic wrap, making sure it’s nicely filled up to the brim. Chill ice cream overnight in the freezer till hard.
2. When the ice cream is ready, make the Italian meringue. Add sugar and water into a saucepan. Place it over medium heat and cook until sugar has dissolved and boil until temperature reaches 120C on a sugar thermometer. Meanwhile, whisk egg whites to soft peaks, then slowly pour in syrup in a thin stream while whisking all the time until finished. Keep whisking for a few minutes until the meringue has cooled. It should be glossy with stiff peaks. Transfer meringue into a piping bag attached with a star nozzle.
3. Using a 8cm cookie cutter, cut out four 1cm thick, 8cm wide pound cake discs. Brush cake discs with rum and spoon 1 to 2 tsp of caramel sauce onto each disc.
4. To assemble, remove ice cream from 2 ramekins. Place one cake disc onto a serving plate followed by a block of ice cream, then top with another slice of cake and ice cream again.
5. Quickly pipe meringue onto the tower of cake and ice cream, making sure to carefully cover all areas. This is to prevent the ice cream from melting too rapidly. Roughly brown the meringue with a blow torch and serve immediately. Repeat steps for the second Baked Alaska.