Miniature Baked Alaskas

Baked Alaska is a fun cold treat with ice cream, cake, and meringue perfect for hot days in the summer.

These miniature baked alaskas are quick and require little preparation, because of the size they make for a perfectly portioned dessert. The mix of cold ice cream, dence cake, and fluffy meringue is something that everyone needs to experience!

Brief History:

Baked Alaska was invented in the early 1800s but used pastry instead of sponge cake. Later, the desert was dubbed the baked Alaska to commemorate the acquisition of Alaska from Russia in 1867. The dessert had a resurgence in the 1950s when it was popularized in Cookbooks and Magazines.

Cake:

1 cup butter

4 eggs

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Meringue:

5 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 quart ice cream

Any cake will work out fine for this recipe. You can make a cake from scratch or make one from a box if you'd prefer. This will make about 10 miniature baked Alaskas. It's a good idea to try to pair your ice cream flavor with your cake flavor. I decided to go with plain vanilla to match my strawberry & peach ice cream.

1) Measure out your cup of butter and 4 eggs, bring them to room temperature

2) Grease a 8"x8"x2" pan in preparation

3) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit

3) Beat together your room temperature eggs, butter, and cup of sugar for 2 minutes

4) In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups of flour with 1 teaspoon of baking powder to insure even distribution of baking powder through the cake

5) Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and mix until combined

6) Bake the cake for 50-65 minutes

The meringue adds a nice fluffy consistency to the cake as well as insulating the ice cream from the heat. To make the meringue do the following.

In a large bowl beat 5 egg whites with 1/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon cream until stiff peaks.

After that you can transfer the meringue to a piping bag if you would prefer.

The idea is to place a dome of ice cream on top of a piece of cake and then to cover the whole thing with your meringue. The meringue will act as an insulating layer so the ice cream doesn't melt when you torch/bake it.

First scoop out some nice sized ice cream scoops and put them back in the freezer to ensure that they are as cold as possible.

Second, using a knife split your cake in half to a 1/2"-1"thickness. Then with a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass, cut out circles of cake roughly the size of your ice cream scoops.

Lastly spread or pipe on a generous amount of meringue all around the cake and put them on a heat safe pan. To cook the meringue either put them in an oven at 500 degrees for 2-3 minutes or use a butane/propane torch.