Baked Alaska with

White Chocolate Snowflakes

 

February 1: Baked Alaska Day

Islander’s Daddy would often make Baked Alaska birthday cakes for the family when she was young since we really could not afford the ice cream cakes at Baskin-Robbins. Daddy would personalize the cake and ice cream combinations according to individual preferences, just like Baskin-Robbins would do for their customers. His homemade treats were always made with love so our birthday cakes were extra special.

Islander was inspired by Daddy’s efforts so she made an ice cream cake for Baked Alaska Day. For this blog post, instead of birthday candles, she added white chocolate snowflakes to decorate her version because it is a winter wonderland right now in the 49th state.

While not really a traditional food for Alaska, this ice cream cake was created in honor of Alaska when the United States acquired the northwestern region of North America from the Russian Empire in March 1867. A New York restaurant, Delmonico’s, is credited for this confection, first known as “Alaska Florida” because of the cold and hot temperatures used to create this ice cream cake.

Baked Alaska is a relatively easy yet dramatic dessert to make for birthdays, seasonal celebrations or specifically on Baked Alaska Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Daddy)

Ingredients

• cake (a sponge cake is traditional but use your favorite flavor)
• ice cream, softened (we used Breyer’s brand lactose free vanilla ice cream)
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar, granulated white
• ½ cup water
• white chocolate or vanilla candy melts

Directions

Bake a small cake from scratch or a boxed mix as a single layer and cool completely. Brush off any crumbs. Set aside. Use a freezer-safe container (an igloo or dome mold is traditional but use any shape to match the cake pan) and line it with plastic wrap. Fill it with softened ice cream. Smooth the top of the ice cream until flat. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm.  Line a baking sheet with foil and place the cake in the middle of it. Carefully remove the ice cream from the container and invert it on top of the cake. Return it to the freezer while making the meringue.

Make a simple syrup by boiling the sugar and water until it slightly thickened. Beat egg whites until light and fluffy. Pour the syrup into the egg whites and whisk until the meringue volume is increased and becomes glossy. Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Use a large star tip to pipe decorations all over the cake and ice cream. Return it to the freezer to firm up the meringue which acts as an insulator for the ice cream.

Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees F on the lowest rack for about five minutes or until the meringue is slightly browned. Remove from the oven and immediately return to the freezer on trivets or protective pads with ample space around the baking sheet to prevent from burning other items. Meanwhile, print out snowflake patterns from a computer clipart collection. Lay the printed snowflake pattern on a clipboard with a sheet of wax paper over it. Melt the white chocolate or vanilla candy and fill a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip.

Trace the snowflake patterns on the wax paper. Refrigerate the snowflakes until firm. Carefully remove the snowflakes from the wax paper and place decoratively on the Baked Alaska. Freeze again until ready to plate and serve in slices.

Notes

• For our Baked Alaska, a 6-inch round pan was used for the cake base to match a bowl with a 6-inch diameter. Wilton’s “open star” tip 4B was used to pipe the meringue while a round tip 5 was used to trace the snowflake pattern.
• Highlander occasionally travels to work in Anchorage and Kenai, Alaska. Search our blog for Alaska-related recipe posts.