Proof Alaska

How to Bake an Alaska

We lived in Alaska for over 12 years and never had a baked Alaska. A baked Alaska was a mysterious dessert served somewhere in the “lower 48.” It seemed strange that you could bake a cake with ice cream in the center.

A baked Alaska is a magnificent affair, a perfect holiday or summertime dessert. Imagine a cake piled high with ice cream and then covered with meringue. To serve, slice the cake showing the cake, ice cream, and meringue in layers.

A baked Alaska is a simple concept? a block of ice cream set on a layer of cake and then covered with meringue. The meringue acts as insulation allowing you to stick the whole concoction in the oven to brown the meringue. You then place the dessert in the freezer to freeze rock hard before serving.

And a baked Alaska is wonderfully versatile. You can pair any ice cream with any cake. A cake mix works fine. Our favorite is chocolate cake with strawberry ice cream. You can any food dolor and flavor for the meringue though white is the traditional color.

For a successful baked Alaska:

- Start with rock hard ice cream. Your cake base will get soggy if you don’t.

- Keep your baked Alaska dessert small. The recipe below will make a cake about nine inches long. This is easier to handle, slice, and serve without melting than a larger dessert. If you need more, make several smaller desserts and keep the others in the freezer while you serve one.

Easy Baked Alaska Recipe

5 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup granulated sugar
several drops food coloring (optional)
1 4 x 6-inch layer of cake about 1 1/2 inches thick 1 brick of ice cream approx. 3″ x 5″ x 4″

The ice cream should be frozen rock hard and the cake completely cooled.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

1. To make the meringue, place the egg whites in a stainless steel or glass bowl. Add the cream of tartar and the vanilla. Beat the mixture until soft peaks form. Drizzle in the sugar while continuing to beat until stiff peaks form.
2. Lay the cake on an oven-proof platter. Cut the ice cream into blocks and stack them on the cake.
3. With a spatula, spread the meringue on the cake and ice cream, completely sealing both from the heat. The meringue will act as insulation from the heat. Any thin areas in the meringue will allow heat to seep through.
4. Bake for three minutes or until the meringue starts to brown. Slice and serve immediately or return to the freezer to serve later.

Baker’s notes: You will need to get your sheet cake out of the pan without it breaking. Lining the pan with parchment paper and then lifting the cake from the pan by grasping the edges of the parchment paper is the easiest way to do so. If you need to trim the top of the cake to create an even, flat layer, you can do so with a serrated knife held horizontally.

About the Author

Dennis Weaver is a well-known author who has written extensively about food including the free 250 page e-book, “”How to Bake” with techniques from professional cooks and culinary schools. He is president of The Prepared Pantry, a seller of ingredients, kitchen tools, gourmet food, and baking mixes— with over 100
bread mixes
. A free baker’s library is available online with
step-by-step pictures for a baked Alaska
.

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