Chocolate & Cherry “Blank Space” Baked Alaska
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert, Gluten Free, Paleo
Serves: one 6" cake
 
Ingredients
  • 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
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 320⁰F and line bottom of a cake tin with parchment paper.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt for the cake. Set aside.
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg yolks and 1 egg until pale yellow and tripled in volume.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Cut out a circle of cake that is the same size the bowl used to mold the sorbet.
  9. 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.
  10. For the meringue, whip the egg whites in a stand mixer until stiff peaks form, adding the maple syrup near the end.
  11. 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!
  12. Bake in the oven until the meringue is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
Serves 6 to 8 people
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.
Recipe by Radiant Rachels at https://radiantrachels.com/chocolate-cherry-blank-space-baked-alaska/