Baked Alaska is one of my favorite desserts. It combines a few of my favorite things: ice cream, meringue and a blow torch 😉! A traditional Baked Alaska is simple and elegant, and you can customize yours with all kinds of flavors. Here, you’ll learn how to make traditional Baked Alaska, and find 6 different flavor varieties to try!
What is Baked Alaska?
Baked Alaska is a dessert that combines ice cream and cake interior with a beautifully torched meringue shell. The name is thought to have originated when the dessert was made at Delmonico’s restaurant to celebrate the United States’ purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867!
Basic Baked Alaska Ingredients
A traditional recipe includes just a few components: meringue, ice cream and cake. You can find the specifics by choosing a recipe below, but in general you will need:
- Homemade ice cream (store-bought works in a pinch!)
- Egg whites, sugar, salt and vanilla extract for the meringue
- A cake base that acts as a “crust” (some of mine below are simple versions without this layer.
Baked Alaska Tips
- You can line your bowl with plastic wrap to make it easier to remove the molded ice cream.
- Get a propane torch to make toasting the top easy and fun!
- Let the cake come to room temperature before slicing to make it easier to cut.
- You can choose all kinds of different flavors for your dessert, including: vanilla, pistachio, chocolate, coffee ice cream and so much more!
Step-By-Step from My Passion Fruit Recipe
To make the ice cream:
Freeze a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan and a serving platter.
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the passion fruit juice and cornstarch. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat and whisk continuously. You want to continue cooking it for about 1 minute after it starts to boil to cook out the starch. It will be slightly thickened.
Reduce the heat and add the sugar, half and half, cream and salt. It will thicken slightly due to the acid in the juice. Cook slowly just until it starts to bubble on the edges of the pan, but don’t bring it back to a boil.
Pour the ice cream base into a shallow dish, cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 3 hours. This can be done a day ahead.
Freeze the ice cream according to your Ice Cream Maker
Empty the ice cream into the frozen loaf pan. Smooth the top, cover with plastic and return it to the freezer until well chilled, about 5 hours or overnight.
When the ice cream is well set, it is time to unmold it onto the frozen serving platter. Fill a 9 x5-inch loaf pan with 1/2 inch of hot water.
Lower the loaf pan filled with ice cream into the hot water for just a few seconds.
Unmold it onto the frozen platter. If it doesn’t slip out easily, just run a butter knife around the edge and try again. Freeze the ice cream while you make the meringue.
To make the meringue
Whisk together the egg whites, sugar and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Rest the bowl over a pot of simmering water to form a double boiler.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl so that all the sugar is off the sides of the bowl. Continue to stir the mixture until all the sugar is melted into the eggs and you no longer feel any graininess when rubbed between your fingers, about 3-5 minutes.
Place the bowl onto your mixer, add the vanilla, whisk on high speed until the meringue is thick and glossy and the bowl is room temperature, about 8 minutes. Be sure it is cool or it will melt the ice cream when you pipe it.
Using a pastry bag fitted with a large star Pastry Tip or a spatula, cover the ice cream completely with the meringue.
Use a Blow Torch
