Baked Alaska

  • Level: Intermediate
  • Yield: 12 servings
  • Total: 6 hr 29 min
  • Prep: 45 min
  • Inactive: 5 hr 40 min
  • Cook: 4 min
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Ingredients

For the Ice Cream Cake: 

Vegetable oil, for brushing

1 pint raspberry, passion fruit or other sorbet, softened

1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened

1 quart chocolate ice cream, softened

1 cup chocolate wafer crumbs (about 17 crushed wafers)

1 loaf pound cake

For the Meringue:

1 cup egg whites (about 6 large), at room temperature

Pinch of cream of tartar

1 cup sugar

Directions

  1. Make the ice cream cake: Brush a 3-quart metal bowl with vegetable oil; line with plastic wrap. Fill the bowl with scoops of the sorbet, vanilla ice cream and half of the chocolate ice cream, alternating small and large scoops to create a mosaic of colors and shapes. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the ice cream; press down to close the gaps between scoops and even out the surface. Remove the plastic wrap, sprinkle the ice cream with the wafer crumbs and re-cover with the plastic wrap, pressing gently. Freeze until set, about 30 minutes. 
  2. Remove the wrap and spread the remaining chocolate ice cream in an even layer on top of the crumbs. Cut the pound cake into 1/2-inch-thick slices; completely cover the ice cream with the slices, trimming as needed (you'll use about two-thirds of the cake). Cover with fresh plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. 
  3. Make the meringue: Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until foamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the sugar on high speed until the whites are glossy and hold stiff peaks. 
  4. Remove the top layer of plastic wrap, then invert the cake onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. (If necessary, let the cake stand overturned until it slips out.) Remove the rest of the plastic wrap and cover the ice cream completely with the meringue, making the dome-shaped top slightly thicker than the sides. Form swirly peaks in the meringue using the back of a spoon. Freeze for at least 3 more hours. 
  5. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Bake the cake until the meringue peaks are golden, about 4 minutes, or brown the meringue with a blowtorch. Let the cake soften at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Freeze any leftovers. 

Let's Get Cooking!

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Terri

I just made this recipe, served it to friends, and everyone loved it.<br />I created layers with the sorbet and ice cream rather than scooping each flavor. It truly wasn’t much longer, time wise: 1. By the time I got home from the store with the sorbet and ice cream everything was already softened. I scooped all raspberry sorbet in, pressed down to an even layer with plastic wrap and froze for maybe 30 minutes. 2. I took the vanilla ice cream out 10 minutes before removing the frozen sorbet. Removed the wrap, and repeated the process with the vanilla. Replaced the wrap and froze for awhile, maybe an hour. I think I was watching a movie. 3. For the chocolate layer and crumbled waters, and then more chocolate ice cream, same as the other layers. I was just mindful of going back to the freezer and pulling an ice cream out to soften or removing the ice cream bowl to add another later. 4. I got to the pound cake layer, covered it and let it freeze overnight. 5. In the morning when I flipped it over to add the meringue the ice cream slid out easily due to an oiled metal bowl and plastic wrap. 6. The meringue turned out great and I understand why it should be frozen, when I put the baked Alaska in a preheated 500 degree oven for 5 minutes it browned nicely, created a shell, and no meringue slipped off.<br />It was delicious and I love the raspberry sorbet and pound cake.

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