Baked Alaska — frozen ice cream in a hot, toasted meringue

i. Origin & history

The science came before the dessert. Around the turn of the nineteenth century the American-born physicist Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, studied how whisked egg whites resist heat, and he is often credited with demonstrating that ice cream could be baked inside a meringue without melting. In France, a dessert of ice cream in meringue browned in the oven became known as omelette surprise or omelette norvégienne — 'Norwegian omelette', a nod to the cold north — and was served in Paris by the mid-nineteenth century.

The American name is usually linked to Delmonico's in New York, the most celebrated restaurant in the country at the time. Its French-born chef, Charles Ranhofer, served a version he called 'Alaska, Florida' — cold and hot — and the dish is commonly said to have been created or named in 1867 to mark the United States' purchase of Alaska from Russia. Ranhofer's recipe appears in his great cookbook The Epicurean (1894). The exact dating is uncertain, but by the 1890s 'baked Alaska' was appearing in American cookbooks.

Baked Alaska became a showpiece of grand hotels, ocean liners and dinner parties through the twentieth century, often doused in spirit and flamed at the table, a version known as bombe Alaska. Cruise lines still parade it through their dining rooms. It fell out of fashion with the decline of elaborate tableside cooking, but has returned on restaurant menus, often in small individual portions finished with a blowtorch.

The name has nothing to do with Alaskan cuisine; it refers to the frozen interior. The cold-hot contrast — the same idea as the Chinese fried ice cream and the Japanese tempura ice cream — is the whole appeal.

ii. Why the ice cream does not melt

Baked Alaska looks like a magic trick, but it relies on simple physics. A meringue is mostly air: countless tiny bubbles held in a film of egg protein and sugar. Air is a very poor conductor of heat, so a thick layer of meringue works like a blanket, slowing the transfer of heat from the oven to the ice cream inside. In a few minutes at high heat, the outer surface of the meringue browns and sets while the heat barely penetrates beyond the first centimetre.

Three conditions make the trick reliable. First, the ice cream must be frozen rock-hard — ideally for several hours or overnight in a moulded dome — so it has a reserve of cold. Second, the meringue must be thick and continuous, at least 2–3 cm deep, and sealed right down to the base on every side: any gap lets hot air reach the ice cream, and it melts and leaks there. Third, the bake must be short and very hot — around 230 °C for 3–5 minutes, or a blowtorch — so the outside browns before the heat creeps inward.

The sponge base matters too. It insulates the bottom of the ice cream from the hot baking tray, and it soaks up any melting at the edges. A thin layer of sponge, just slightly larger than the ice cream, is enough.

This recipe uses a Swiss meringue, in which the whites and sugar are warmed together over hot water before whisking. It is denser, glossier and more stable than a raw French meringue, holds its shape for longer while you work, and the warming cooks the whites to a safe temperature, which matters because the inside of the meringue barely cooks in the oven.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 8 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 750 ml vanilla ice cream
• 500 ml raspberry sorbet or strawberry ice cream
• 1 20 cm round sponge layer, about 2 cm thick
• 3 tbsp raspberry jam
• 2 tbsp kirsch, rum or orange juice
• 4 large egg whites (about 130 g)
• 220 g caster sugar
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• ⅛ tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Use a dense, good-quality ice cream; cheap, airy ice cream melts quickly and softens while you work. A layer of raspberry sorbet or a contrasting ice cream inside gives a striking cross-section and a sharper flavour. For the base, use a layer of plain sponge such as a golden sponge, a slice of pound cake or a brownie — anything about 2 cm thick. The jam and liqueur moisten the sponge; use orange juice for a child-friendly version. Cream of tartar stabilises the meringue; a teaspoon of lemon juice can be used instead.

iv. Method

1. Line a 1.5 litre pudding basin, about 18 cm across, with cling film. Soften the vanilla ice cream for 10 minutes and press it around the base and sides of the basin, leaving a hollow in the middle. Freeze for 1 hour, then fill the hollow with the softened sorbet, level the top and freeze overnight, or for at least 6 hours, until rock-hard.
2. Place the sponge on a baking tray lined with baking paper, or on an ovenproof serving plate. Trim it to a round about 1 cm wider than the basin. Spread with the jam and drizzle with the kirsch. Keep cold.
3. For the Swiss meringue, put the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Whisk constantly for 4–5 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch, about 70 °C (160 °F).
4. Transfer to a stand mixer, or use an electric whisk, and beat on high for 6–8 minutes, until very thick, glossy and cool, holding stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla.
5. Heat the oven to 230 °C (450 °F), or 210 °C fan, with a shelf in the lower third. Unmould the ice cream dome onto the sponge and peel off the cling film.
6. Working quickly, spread the meringue thickly over the dome, at least 2–3 cm deep, sealing it right down onto the sponge and paper all round so no ice cream or cake shows. Swirl it into peaks with the back of a spoon. (The assembled Alaska can wait in the freezer for up to 2 hours.)
7. Bake for 3–5 minutes, until the peaks are golden brown and the hollows still pale. Or brown it all over with a blowtorch. Serve at once, cutting with a large knife dipped in hot water.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Freeze the ice cream overnight. It needs a deep reserve of cold to survive the oven. Soft-frozen ice cream melts before the meringue browns.
• Seal every edge. The meringue must meet the base all the way round. Any gap lets hot air in and the ice cream leaks out there.
• Make the meringue thick. A thin layer does not insulate. Aim for 2–3 cm all over, with extra on top.
• Use a very hot oven, briefly. Three to five minutes at 230 °C browns the outside without heating the core. A moderate oven gives the heat time to reach the ice cream.
• Choose Swiss meringue. It is more stable, holds peaks while you work and is safely cooked, since the inside of the meringue barely heats in the oven.
• Serve immediately. The contrast lasts only a few minutes. Have plates and a hot knife ready before it goes in.

vi. Variations

Bombe Alaska is the flamed version: warm 60 ml dark rum or brandy, pour it over the browned meringue at the table and ignite it carefully. Individual baked Alaskas use rounds of sponge topped with a scoop of ice cream each, browned with a blowtorch. Flavour combinations are endless: chocolate ice cream on a brownie base, coffee ice cream with a coffee-soaked sponge, or mango sorbet with coconut ice cream. The French omelette norvégienne is the same dessert, often built on a génoise and flamed with Grand Marnier.

For more meringue on DessertCat, see the crisp meringue kisses, a lemon meringue pie, and the nutty layers of a dacquoise. For the ice cream, try raspberry sorbet or rich frozen custard.

vii. Serving & storage

Baked Alaska is a dinner-party and celebration dessert, brought to the table straight from the oven and cut in front of guests. Serve it with a sharp fruit sauce — raspberry coulis or a few macerated berries — to cut the sweetness. A slice shows the layers: golden meringue, white and pink ice cream, and the jam-soaked sponge.

Leftovers do not keep well: the meringue weeps and the ice cream recrystallises. You can, however, prepare almost everything in advance. The ice cream dome can be made up to a week ahead and kept frozen; the sponge base a day ahead. Fully assembled and covered in meringue, the unbaked Alaska can wait in the freezer for up to 2 hours (a Swiss meringue tolerates this best) and goes straight into the hot oven.

ix. More from North American

• Meringue Kisses — tiny crisp piped meringues
• Lemon Meringue Pie — tart curd under meringue
• Frozen Custard — rich egg-yolk soft-serve
• Raspberry Sorbet — sharp, smooth berry ice
• Golden Sponge — American yellow layer cake
• Dacquoise — French nut-meringue cake