A Baked Alaska is a splendid pudding, quite a showstopper in fact, but it’s surprisingly easy. When you place one on the dinner table there will be “ooohs” and “ahhs” of delight from your guests who’ll think you’ve made something difficult as well as special.
What follows is hardly a recipe at all, just some simple instructions and tips.
First – modern ice creams tends to be soft-scoop, so obviously won’t set hard, which is what you want. If possible, look for non soft scoop. Or, better still, make a version of my ridiculously easy ice cream. It sets really hard overnight and you can decide what flavour you want. I’ve no definite figure for how much ice cream you’ll need as bowl sizes and sponge base sizes vary, but if you have at least 2 litres that should be OK. And it’s not a problem having extra ice cream in the freezer for another day, is it?
Second – rather than making a sponge base, simply buy one from the supermarket. No, it’s not cheating, it’s making life (and baking) easy.
Third – when you have your ice cream available – spray or brush a little oil inside a medium bowl. Line the bowl with cling film and leave plenty to fold over at the end. Now pack in the ice cream. (If you have two ice creams you could layer them.) Wrap over the cling film then put it all in a freezer overnight or longer. (You can use kitchen foil instead, but take care not to leave any small bits in the ice cream when you unpack it.)
Fourth – at dinner, after your main course – make the meringue with:
- 3 egg whites
- 175g caster sugar
- 1 Tsp lemon juice
1. Heat the oven to fan 200°C
2. Whisk egg whites almost to stiff peak stage.
3. Keep whisking while adding in the sugar gradually.
4. Add in the lemon juice while beating.
If you have a blow torch you could have it available in case it’s needed, but it probably won’t be.
5. Spoon a layer of jam onto the sponge base. (I suppose you could use melted chocolate here, but I haven’t tried that – yet.)
6. Unwrap the frozen & shaped ice cream and place onto the sponge base.
7. Working quickly, spoon or pipe the meringue over the ice cream and – if possible – over the top of the sponge edges. Use a fork or knife to “flick up” a few pointy bits.
8. Put into oven for 5 – 6 minutes (If necessary afterwards, use your blow torch to brown the meringue. Take care not to burn the pointy bits, like I did!!!)
9. Serve, smile, eat and enjoy.
Retired Bloke on Food n stuff 