Baked Alaska
Quick answer
- Total time
- 45 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 8 servings
- Ingredients
- 6
About this dish
Baked Alaska is a dessert where sponge cake and ice cream are encased in Italian meringue without any gaps, then baked briefly at high heat.
Read more
The meringue acts as an insulating shell, preventing the oven's intense heat from reaching the frozen core. For this to work reliably, the meringue must be applied thickly and cover every part of the surface. The ice cream needs at least four hours in the freezer before assembly so it stays solid through the brief bake, and the finished dome should go back into the freezer immediately after construction and stay there until just before browning. Egg whites whipped with sugar to stiff peaks form the meringue shell, which is then torched or placed in a 250-degree oven for two to three minutes until the surface turns golden brown. Adding vanilla extract to the meringue releases its aroma during browning. When sliced, three distinct layers become visible in cross-section: charred meringue, frozen ice cream, and moist sponge cake beneath. The contrast between the scorched, warm exterior and the frozen core is the defining quality of this dessert, and the visual reveal when the knife cuts through makes it as much a performance as a dish.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Step
Set the sponge cake layer on a cold tray and mound 700 g vanilla ice cream into a compact dome on top.
Wrap it tightly in parchment and freeze for at least 4 hours until the center feels rock solid.
- 2Season
Put 4 egg whites and 0.1 teaspoon salt in a clean, completely dry bowl.
Whip on medium speed until the whites look foamy and evenly aerated, with no loose clear patches at the bottom.
- 3Season
Add 140 g sugar in three additions while whipping continuously so it dissolves into the foam instead of sinking.
Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, then stop when the meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks.
- 4Step
Take the frozen cake out only when the meringue is ready, then coat the top and sides with a layer at least 2 cm thick.
Seal all the way down to the cake edge so oven heat cannot reach the ice cream.
- 5Step
Use a spatula or spoon to pull waves and peaks across the meringue surface; the raised ridges will brown first.
Preheat the oven fully to 230°C and keep the cake cold until the moment it goes in.
- 6Heat
Bake for only 3 to 5 minutes in the preheated oven, removing it as soon as the meringue turns golden on the ridges.
Rest for about 1 minute, then cut with a warmed knife to show clean layers.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Baked Alaska coats frozen ice cream in toasted meringue for a thermal barrier that resists heat.
- Finish cue
- Bake for only 3 to 5 minutes in the preheated oven, removing it as soon as the meringue turns golden on the ridges.
- Storage and reheating
- Freeze the ice cream core thoroughly before meringue coating.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
45min, 6 ingredients
Category median
55min, 8 ingredients
Based on 248 recipes
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