how to make baked alaska – ice cream cake

It’s hot, so let’s make something cool. It’s time to take cake and ice cream to another level, and make my favorite dessert using ‘left overs.’ I’m going to tell you about one of the easiest and most beautifully-awesome ways to put it together: Baked Alaska.

My mom kept telling me to make Baked Alaska. I had never had it before or made it before . . . She explained that you bake ice cream on top of cake with meringue on top. I thought, ‘How could ice cream be baked onto a cake, without it melting or becoming a hot-mess?’ I’m glad I always do what my mom tells me to do. Even when I’m in-doubt, she will always be right.

This is a recipe re-post from years back. I did some research and found that there are many different takes on making this dessert. I came up with my own simplified version. This was a test and the first time I would ever make it. It’s so fun and easy, that I’ll easily be able to make this again. It’s actually pretty cool. It tastes amazing, cuts as perfectly as an ice cream cake, and pleases the crowd just as well. Here’s how you put it together. Give it a try and let me how it goes!  

Mili’s Sweets Baked Alaska

Here’s what you’ll need:

Cake or Cobbler (I used extra Peach Cobbler cupcakes.)

Ice Cream – (I bought an organic, nut-free vanilla bean ice cream.)

Meringue (Here’s my easy breezy vanilla meringue recipe.)

Tools – An oven safe edged plate or pan that holds the amount of cake you have reserved, offset spatula spoon, standing mixer, piping bag and tip, oven. Here’s what you’ll do:

In an oven safe dish or pan, place your extra cake slices or cupcakes. Smash them a bit to set them down and together.

Next, scoop ice cream on top. Use an offset spatula to fill it in and smooth it out. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 3 hours. When you are ready to serve your dessert, it’s time to make the meringue. (It might be a day after or two weeks after you put it in the freezer.)

When you are ready to top and serve:

Once the meringue is made and the oven is at 500 degrees, you can finish putting the dessert together. Pipe the meringue onto the top of the prepared, frozen cake and ice cream. You might want to double the meringue recipe (above) so that you have plenty.

Traditional Baked Alaska is topped with a large amount of dome-shaped meringue. However, with my square plate, and desire for easy serving, I went with piping one, nice and even layer, using a star tip. It’s probably an unnecessary step, but after it was piped, I placed the plate onto a baking sheet.

Since I had never made this before, I wasn’t sure if ice cream or condensation was going to drip in the oven and I didn’t want to risk it. It baked clean, but I’m a nerd and will probably do it the same way next time.

Bake for 3 minutes. That’s it! The meringue is perfectly golden and the ice cream is still melted.
The chef that invented this was so smart!  For a little history lesson, the name “Baked Alaska” was coined at Delmonico’s Restaurant by their chef-de-cuisine Charles Ranhofer in 1876 to honor the recently acquired American territory.

Thank you Chef Ranhofer! There are so many “best parts” of this dessert!

I love that it’s super easy to cut and serve. I love that it’s absolutely beautiful and takes barely any effort or time. I love that it my left overs that would have been thrown away or given away can be used for another day, when I feel like serving something special. I especially love how great my kids think it is, and therefore how cool I am for making it for them.