Strawberry Chocolate Baked Alaska

Um, how did I not know how amazingly awesome baked Alaska is??  Cake (in this case brownie), ice cream, and meringue??  Three of my favorite things all piled into one glorious, perfect dessert.  I can tell you I'll be making these babies on a regular basis.

I got this recipe from Bon Appetit, but once you have the technique down the sky is really the limit.  The main thing is you need a base, topped with ice cream, and the ice cream needs to be completely sealed with meringue.  The completely frozen dessert is then baked for a five minutes in a piping hot oven, and voila.  Nirvana.  Well, for me at least.

The recipe said you could use an oven or a kitchen torch, so I tried both and can say with certainty the oven is the only way to go.  The torch made for a nicer presentation since you can singe the meringue more easily, but the base and ice cream remained rock hard (as is evident in the picture below).  In the oven, everything is just as it should be.  Soft base, delightfully soft ice cream, and a crisp meringue.  Must go make more.  Now.

Strawberry Chocolate Baked Alaska
from Bon Appetit 

 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
  1 pint strawberry ice cream, slightly softened
  3 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan; line bottom with parchment paper. Stir bittersweet chocolate, butter, and unsweetened chocolate in small saucepan over low heat until chocolates melt and mixture is smooth. Cool 10 minutes. Whisk 3/4 cup sugar and eggs in large bowl until well blended, about 1 minute. Whisk in chocolate mixture. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt over; stir to blend. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake cake until top looks dry and tester inserted into center comes out with some thick sticky batter attached, about 17 minutes. Cool cake in pan to room temperature.

Cut around cake in pan. Place cutting board over pan and invert, tapping out cake. Peel off parchment. Using 3-inch round cutter, cut out 6 cake rounds (save remaining cake for another use). Line small baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange cake rounds on prepared sheet. Using 2 1/4- to 2 1/2-inch-diameter ice cream scoop, place scoop of strawberry ice cream in center of each round, leaving about 1/4-inch plain border. Freeze until ice cream is solid, about 2 hours.

Combine remaining 3/4 cup sugar and egg whites in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of gently simmering water and whisk until mixture is very warm, and registers 160 degrees F on a candy thermometer.   Remove bowl from over water. Using electric mixer, beat meringue at high speed until very thick and billowy, about 2 minutes. Place baking sheet with cake rounds on work surface. Mound 2 heaping tablespoons meringue atop ice cream on 1 cake round. Spread meringue evenly over to cover, sealing meringue to plain cake border and swirling decoratively. Repeat with remaining desserts. Freeze uncovered on baking sheet until meringue is solid, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 500°F. Transfer desserts still on baking sheet from freezer directly to oven. Bake until meringue is deep brown in spots, turning sheet as needed for even cooking, about 3 minutes. Transfer to plates.

Linked to:
Melt in Your Mouth Monday 
Crazy Sweet Tuesday