Baked Brownie Alaska
This decadent dessert is really quite easy to prepare and will be the star of your evening.
The varying textures and depth of flavor make it a stand out every time it is served.
This dessert will become a favorite for any occasion.
Baked Alaska is decadent and totally one of life's guilty pleasures. It's combination of textures is one reason it is over the top as a rare culinary experience.
Before you even take a bite, you are hypnotized by the layers of meringue and ice cream. The brownie foundation is one more reason to anticipate that first bite.
It is a dessert you would be thrilled to serve at any dinner party or as a special treat for your family.
What could be better....Charlie Pride singing while enjoying Baked Alaska???
Baked Alaska and similar desserts take advantage of the insulating properties of the trapped air in the cellular structure of foams (the meringue and sponge cake) which keeps the heat from reaching the ice cream. In the case of pastry crusts, the combination of air trapped in the layers of pastry and the air space between the pastry crust and the ice cream act as insulation, although not as well as the insulating provided by meringue.
— foodreference.comMy first baked Alaska experience
The very first time I ever had baked Alaska was in Tokyo, Japan, in the club that military personnel could travel to from bases all over Japan to have a weekend of entertainment for little expense. We had gone to hear Charlie Pride sing.
We were seated and had finished the last of our dinner. The dishes were being taken away and I excused myself to go to the ladies room. The hallways were a-buzz and everyone was moving quickly. I darted around a corner and plunged full force into a mountain of a sumo wrestler, Jesse! I was startled and I believe he was too. I looked up and smiled. He did not speak. He did not need to say anything. His eyes and his face said it all. A look of amusement crept into those sparkling eyes and a smile spread across his face assuring me all was well.
I nodded and continued to mumble apologies and hurried off. I will always associate baked Alaska with the mountain of a man I met that night, my gentle giant.
Cook Time
Watch Martha & Company Make an IMPERFECT Baked Alaska
Meringue must be perfection
Ingredients
- 8 egg whites, room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 box brownies, or, your own favorite brownie recipe
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
- 1 pint chocolate chunk ice cream, softened
Egg whites are fluffed
Into the North Pole--freezing again....brrrrr
Baked Alaska with a special meringue
A cloud of decadence
Instructions
- Line a 2 quart bowl with cellophane wrap. Scoop a pint of chocolate chunk ice cream into the bowl. Use a plate to smash down the ice cream so it spreads out to the sides of the bowl.
- Let freeze overnight. The next morning, soften the vanilla ice cream and follow the same procedure as you did with chocolate. Return to freezer for 6 hours.
- Make your favorite brownie recipe or use a brownie mix to make brownies and bake in a 9x13 pan. Bake according to directions and set aside to cool.
- When it is near time to serve the dessert, make the meringue. To make the meringue, pour egg whites into mixing bowl and begin mixing. Mix on medium high for about a minute, then add cream of tartar and salt.
- Set mixer on high and gradually add the sugar. Let mix until stiff peaks form.
- Select a serving dish that is able to go from oven to freezer with no chance of breaking. Cut brownie to fit the dish leaving about an inch between the brownie and the side of the plate.
- Remove bowl of ice cream from freezer. Run warm water on the back of the bowl for a minute or so and then lift out using the cellophane. It will come out easily. Quickly remove the cellophane from the ice cream.
- Place flat side of ice cream on the brownie. Spread egg whites in flowing strokes all over the ice cream being certain that all ice cream is covered.
- Return to the freezer for two hours.
- After two hours have passed, preheat oven to 500. Then bake Alaska on lowest rack of the oven for about 5 minutes until peaks are golden. Serve immediately. Nutrition information is approximate.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 Baked Alaska | |
| Calories | 2000 |
| Calories from Fat | 711 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 79 g | 122% |
| Saturated fat 35 g | 175% |
| Carbohydrates 297 g | 99% |
| Sugar 234 g | |
| Fiber 4 g | 16% |
| Protein 40 g | 80% |
| Cholesterol 467 mg | 156% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Other baked Alaskas
There are probably as many baked Alaska recipes available as there are kinds of cake and ice cream. Many are made with sponge cake.
This is not a difficult dish to prepare. It really makes itself.
- Choose your ice cream.
- Choose the dish in which the ice cream will be frozen.
- Choose one flavor of ice cream or several.
- Choose your base: pound cake, sponge cake, brownie. You can also use crumbled cookie base much like one from which you would make a pie crust.
- Follow the directions in the recipe.
- At the end, make the meringue. I have read recipes where the meringue can be baked right after it is slathered on the ice cream. That could be tricky because the ice cream may have begun to melt but if you work quickly it may work.
- That is really all there is to it. It really is not labor intensive at all.
© 2012 Patricia Scott
