Baked Alaska seems to be the dessert of choice these days for special parties and events. I have a friend whose husband makes Baked Alaska for the family birthdays. She confided in me that she is always grateful that the house is still standing when the event is over. She keeps a fire extinguisher nearby.
Many restaurants do a tableside service of this fun dessert. It combines food with entertainment.
Baked Alaska is a flat sponge cake topped with ice cream, covered in raw meringue and baked for a very short period of time in a very hot oven, so that the meringue browns but the ice cream stays solid and cold. It is very impressive and festive, even though it is really very simple.
The air in the meringue acts as insulation to protect the ice cream for the short period of time it is in the oven. Meringue is a very poor conductor of heat.
The invention of Baked Alaska is credited to many people. The idea of cooking a dessert with ice cream as its core ingredient in an insulated covering seems to have originated with the Chinese. They used pastry for the outside.
It was introduced to Europe when a Chinese delegation visited Paris in the mid-19th century.
The use of meringue was then introduced in 1804 by the American physicist Benjamin Thompson. He was investigating the heat resistance of beaten egg whites when he discovered thatthe ice cream stayed cold and the result became a dish that he named omelet surprise.
Some credit the invention to Charles Ranhofer of Delmonico's Restaurant in New York City.
It is said he named this dish in 1867, to celebrate the acquisition of Alaska.
Baked Alaska was very popular in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly on cruise ships.
It was also a popular choice for dinner parties and banquets. It always creates a lot of excitement. A variation called Bombe Alaska calls for some dark rum to be splashed over the Baked Alaska. Lights are then turned down and the whole dessert is flambed while being served.
Today this dessert is making a comeback. It can be made at home and is actually quite easy to do. There are a few tips that will make the task easier.
The ice cream must be as cold as possible before it goes in the oven, and the oven must be as hot as possible at least 450 degrees.
The meringue should thickly coat the ice cream. If you wish to follow tradition, reserve some meringue to pipe a decoration on the top. Be ready to serve immediately. I have included two recipes. One is traditional, the other with a twist. Enjoy!
One of the earliest baked Alaska recipes to be featured in a celebrated cookbook is this one taken from “The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book” by Fannie Farmer, published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, in 1896.
This column has been a collaborative effort between Auburn natives chef Max Hitchcock and his mother, Susan Silverman. They can be reached at Birdscapes@adelphia.net
Baked Alaska
2-quart brick of ice cream, any flavor but vanilla is traditional.
Thin sheet sponge cake.
Make meringue of eggs and sugar. (Recipe follows)
Cover a board with white paper; lay on sponge cake, turn ice cream on cake (which should extend 1/2 inch beyond ice cream), cover with meringue, and spread smoothly.
Place board on oven rack and brown quickly in hot oven. The board, paper, cake, and meringue are poor conductors of heat, and prevent the cream from melting.
Slip the paper on ice cream platter.
Serve immediately.
Meringue
6 egg whites
6 tablespoons powdered sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice or 3/4 tablespoon vanilla. Beat whites until stiff, add sugar gradually and continue beating, then add flavoring.
Chocolate Baked Alaska
Makes 16 servings.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 pints chocolate ice cream (slightly softened)
1 pint mocha or coffee ice cream
1 15- or15-1/2 oz. package brownie mix
4 egg whites at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3 cup sugar
Preparation:
l. Line a l-l/2-quart mixing bowl with plastic wrap. With back of large spoon, spread chocolate ice cream to line bowl, being sure ice cream comes to top of bowl. Freeze one hour.
2. Remove bowl from freezer. Spoon mocha ice cream into center of chocolate ice cream. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm (about 5 hours, at least).
3. Meanwhile, prepare brownie mix as label directs for cake-like brownies, but use a 9-inch round cake pan and bake 30 minutes. Cool.
4. Place brownie on foil lined cookie sheet. Remove ice cream from freezer and discard plastic cover. Invert bowl on top of brownie and peel off plastic liner. Freeze until needed.
5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. To prepare meringue: In small bowl, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar until completely dissolved. Whites should stand in stiff, glossy peaks.
6. Remove ice cream cake from freezer. Spread meringue over ice cream cake, being sure that brownie is completely sealed around the bottom with meringue. Bake 4 to 5 minutes until meringue is lightly browned. Serve immediately.
- Recipe from Lakeshore Inn in Rockland, Maine
Baked Alaska is a flat sponge cake topped with ice cream, covered in raw meringue and baked for a very short period of time in a very hot oven, so that the meringue browns but the ice cream stays solid and cold. It is very impressive and festive, even though it is really very simple.
The air in the meringue acts as insulation to protect the ice cream for the short period of time it is in the oven. Meringue is a very poor conductor of heat.
The invention of Baked Alaska is credited to many people. The idea of cooking a dessert with ice cream as its core ingredient in an insulated covering seems to have originated with the Chinese. They used pastry for the outside.
It was introduced to Europe when a Chinese delegation visited Paris in the mid-19th century.
The use of meringue was then introduced in 1804 by the American physicist Benjamin Thompson. He was investigating the heat resistance of beaten egg whites when he discovered thatthe ice cream stayed cold and the result became a dish that he named omelet surprise.
Some credit the invention to Charles Ranhofer of Delmonico's Restaurant in New York City.
It is said he named this dish in 1867, to celebrate the acquisition of Alaska.
Baked Alaska was very popular in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly on cruise ships.
It was also a popular choice for dinner parties and banquets. It always creates a lot of excitement. A variation called Bombe Alaska calls for some dark rum to be splashed over the Baked Alaska. Lights are then turned down and the whole dessert is flambed while being served.
Today this dessert is making a comeback. It can be made at home and is actually quite easy to do. There are a few tips that will make the task easier.
The ice cream must be as cold as possible before it goes in the oven, and the oven must be as hot as possible at least 450 degrees.
The meringue should thickly coat the ice cream. If you wish to follow tradition, reserve some meringue to pipe a decoration on the top. Be ready to serve immediately. I have included two recipes. One is traditional, the other with a twist. Enjoy!
One of the earliest baked Alaska recipes to be featured in a celebrated cookbook is this one taken from “The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book” by Fannie Farmer, published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, in 1896.
This column has been a collaborative effort between Auburn natives chef Max Hitchcock and his mother, Susan Silverman. They can be reached at Birdscapes@adelphia.net
Baked Alaska
2-quart brick of ice cream, any flavor but vanilla is traditional.
Thin sheet sponge cake.
Make meringue of eggs and sugar. (Recipe follows)
Cover a board with white paper; lay on sponge cake, turn ice cream on cake (which should extend 1/2 inch beyond ice cream), cover with meringue, and spread smoothly.
Place board on oven rack and brown quickly in hot oven. The board, paper, cake, and meringue are poor conductors of heat, and prevent the cream from melting.
Slip the paper on ice cream platter.
Serve immediately.
Meringue
6 egg whites
6 tablespoons powdered sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice or 3/4 tablespoon vanilla. Beat whites until stiff, add sugar gradually and continue beating, then add flavoring.
Chocolate Baked Alaska
Makes 16 servings.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 pints chocolate ice cream (slightly softened)
1 pint mocha or coffee ice cream
1 15- or15-1/2 oz. package brownie mix
4 egg whites at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3 cup sugar
Preparation:
l. Line a l-l/2-quart mixing bowl with plastic wrap. With back of large spoon, spread chocolate ice cream to line bowl, being sure ice cream comes to top of bowl. Freeze one hour.
2. Remove bowl from freezer. Spoon mocha ice cream into center of chocolate ice cream. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm (about 5 hours, at least).
3. Meanwhile, prepare brownie mix as label directs for cake-like brownies, but use a 9-inch round cake pan and bake 30 minutes. Cool.
4. Place brownie on foil lined cookie sheet. Remove ice cream from freezer and discard plastic cover. Invert bowl on top of brownie and peel off plastic liner. Freeze until needed.
5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. To prepare meringue: In small bowl, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar until completely dissolved. Whites should stand in stiff, glossy peaks.
6. Remove ice cream cake from freezer. Spread meringue over ice cream cake, being sure that brownie is completely sealed around the bottom with meringue. Bake 4 to 5 minutes until meringue is lightly browned. Serve immediately.
- Recipe from Lakeshore Inn in Rockland, Maine
The Citizens' Say
There are 1 comment(s)
lazetta wrote on Feb 15, 2008 1:29 PM:
Try using a propane torch, rather than the oven to quickly brown the Meringue, and expedite service to the table.
First utilized Baked Alaska at The Aspen Minie Company, in San Diego, in '69. A very popular desert. Have not sen it since, unless where I cooked.
LaZetta "