“Nice to meet you, where you been?”
That’s exactly how I would greet this baked Alaska. It takes ice cream cake to the next level, traditionally presented flaming with ignited liquor. Mesmerizing. It’s been way to long since I’ve had some. I’d estimate somewhere around six years since the kitchen crew came marching out with a baked Alaska for each table on our Mexico cruise.
“I could show you incredible things…
And I know you heard about me
So hey, let’s be friends…
I can make the bad guys good for a weekend”
If you’ve never tasted or even heard about baked Alaska, you’re in for a treat! Because I’ve healthified this one. You won’t find any gluten, dairy, or refined sugars in this recipe. It’s going to be
“Magic, madness, heaven, sin”
all jam-packed into one show-stopping dessert.
It’s been so much fun stretching our creativity to come up with food representations of 1989. We’ve made some truly epic food and this one just about tops the list! When it was my turn to plan a recipe for Blank Space, the line:
“So it’s gonna be forever
Or it’s gonna go down in flames”
struck me, and the idea of a flaming baked Alaska popped into my head. It was an ambitious goal, but I do love a good kitchen challenge since it’ll
“Keep you second guessing”
“They’ll tell you I’m insane…
‘Cause we’re young and we’re reckless
We’ll take this way too far”
Especially for making this on a weekday. I often get asked how I have time for blogging while being a full time university student. The answer: I make time for what I love. The method: detailed time management. Whenever possible, I will be in the kitchen baking away at night so that I will be able to utilize the natural sunlight in the late morning or early afternoon when I don’t have class. Or I’ll do a little “procrastibaking” between studying. Chew and I sometimes spend the whole day whipping out recipes and taking all the photos so that they’ll be ready to be incorporated into posts. It really is a part-time job. The best type of course.
“Saw you there and I thought
Oh my God, look at that face
You look like my next mistake”
After excitedly discussing this baked Alaska with Chew and my roommate, we came to a consensus that it was not a good idea to be setting alcohol on fire since 1) I’ve never done it before and 2) we don’t own a fire extinguisher. I still really wanted to bring the element of fire into this recipe; we joked about doing a flambe outdoors in the middle of campus as a show. But… to keep everyone safe, alive, and well, fancy piping and a very hot oven will have to suffice. However, if you happen to be a master flambe-er, I promise this special effect will
“Leave you breathless”
but hopefully with no
“Nasty scar”
“Cherry lips, crystal skies”
Since Swift is known for her cherry red lips, I made a cherry nanacream! Cherry paired with chocolate cake and some almond extract, no words. The fact that frozen bananas can transform into a creamy soft serve continues to mystify me. As long as you completely cover the ice cream dome in meringue, the ice cream will not melt in the oven! Just keepin’ the magic real in this dessert.
“But I’ve got a blank space, baby
And I’ll write your name”
Our American friends are feasting on Thanksgiving dinner today and probably not ready to think about Christmas dinner quite yet. That being said, this Chocolate and Cherry Baked Alaska would be a fantastic Christmas dessert. Most of this stunning dessert can be made in advance; I’ve included instructions in the notes. If Christmas dessert is still a “blank space”, why not start a new tradition and make baked Alaska?
- CAKE
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp espresso powder
- A pinch of pink Himalayan salt
- 3 egg yolks + 1 egg
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
- ¼ cup almond milk
- ½ tsp pure almond extract
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- CHERRY CHOCOLATE SORBET
- 2 bananas, cut into coins and frozen
- 1 cup frozen pitted cherries
- ½ cup almond milk
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- MERINGUE
- 3 egg whites
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- Preheat the oven to 320⁰F and line bottom of a cake tin with parchment paper.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt for the cake. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg yolks and 1 egg until pale yellow and tripled in volume.
- Gradually add the maple syrup, melted coconut oil, almond milk, and extracts to the eggs and beat until fully incorporated. Then add the dry ingredients and mix until homogenous.
- Spread cake batter into prepared cake tin; it's okay if it doesn't reach the edge, just make sure the batter is ½" thick. Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
- While the cake is cooling, make the sorbet. Blend the frozen banana coins, cherries, almond milk, and vanilla extract in a food processor until smooth and creamy.
- Line a small bowl, about 5 inches in diameter, with plastic wrap, leaving enough overhang to seal the opening afterwards. Fill the bowl with sorbet, making sure there are no gaps. Wrap up and freeze until firm.
- Cut out a circle of cake that is the same size the bowl used to mold the sorbet.
- Position an oven rack on the middle shelf and preheat the oven to the highest temperature (mine was 500⁰F). Skip this step if you have a torch.
- For the meringue, whip the egg whites in a stand mixer until stiff peaks form, adding the maple syrup near the end.
- Place the cut out round of cake onto a baking sheet. Unwrap the molded sorbet and place it on top of the cake. Spread a thick layer of meringue over the sorbet dome, being sure to completely enclose the sorbet in meringue. The meringue will insulate the sorbet from the heat of the oven. Don’t want that sorbet melting before you serve it!
- Bake in the oven until the meringue is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Serve immediately.
Steps 1 to 7 can be done ahead of time. Store cake wrapped at in the fridge, and keep molded sorbet in the freezer until needed.
Although it is recommended to consume the whole cake in one sitting, leftovers can be stored in the freezer, but the texture of the meringue will change.
Chocolate cake adapted from our Mint Malteaser Cake recipe
More 1989 recipes…
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