I Made a Special Desert

Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to make a Baked Alaska. My favorite movie as a kid was Annie. When Annie first arrives at Daddy Warbucks' house, the cook gives Miss Farrell the menu for the evening meal. The desert was Baked Alaska. Here is my take on it:

First, I needed five bowls for the ice cream. Most people use ramekins, but I found these bowls at Target. I thought they would be handy to use later as they came with lids and only cost $0.99 each.

Then I lined each bowl with plastic wrap. It makes it easier to get the ice cream out later.

Next, I divided the ice cream between the bowls. These went into the freezer to set while I moved onto the next step. I chose to use Coffee ice cream. The 1.5 quarts wasn't quite enough to fill the bowls to the top.

I used one box cake mix and poured the batter into two pans. You can use one pan, but then you have to slice the cake later. I was trying to save a step. I used a spice cake which I think goes well with coffee ice cream.

Then I cut 5 big and 5 little circles out of my cakes. For the big circles, I used a 6th bowl. For the little ones, I used a drinking glass. After I cut my circles, I started on my Italian Meringue.

Next, the challenge began. Gordon Ramsay says to warm the bowls with your hand to get the ice cream out. He must have warmer hands than me. I ended up dipping the bowls in a warm pot of water. Mark helped me with this and in getting the Meringue right (I've never made it in my life and he has).

Once we got the ice cream out, I stacked the cakes like this:

Then I took the meringue and spread it around the cakes. I used the flat of my knife to create the peaks all over.

Now my favorite part: I got to use a blow torch to finish the Baked Alaskas.

I have to say, they turned out pretty well. While they tasted as good as they look, I did think they were awfully sweet. I was only able to eat about half of mine and that was pushing it. However, this is one desert that freezes well so there are currently three half Baked Alaskas in my freezer. I try not to think about them late at night when I want a snack.