Mini Baked Alaskas

when coconut cake, ice cream and meringue become friends

I’ve never made a proper baked alaska. By ‘proper’, I mean using the traditional method of assembling the components upside down in a large cling filmed lined bowl, filling with a tub of ice cream, somehow finding enough space in the freezer to firm it up (hint, there’s never enough space) and then covering completely in meringue.

There’s something about the sheer size of them that has always felt a little overwhelming; how do you cut and serve without making a mess? And if you don’t finish it in one sitting, how do we store the leftovers? These are the sort of questions that had me avoiding this retro dessert despite it being fairly simple to put together.

And yet, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on, this week I decided to jump into baked alaska world and quickly decided that downsizing them was the route I wanted to take and it made things feel more approachable. Were they a little more fiddly to put together than I hoped? Perhaps. But I’ll put that down to me being extra and having the idea to coat the cake layer in jam and coconut, like a mini lamington. The results are undeniably fun but be prepared for messy fingers.

Traditionally, baked alaskas consist of a layer of cake (or sometimes brownie), a large layer of ice cream and then everything is covered in meringue. I’ve adapted these a little to better suit my preferences. My layer of coconut cake is a bit thicker; I’m a cake lover anyway but I find that everything just feels too soft when the cake is too thin. Secondly, I only cover the ice cream part in meringue. I want to see the cake, especially when I’ve gone to the effort of coating it in coconut. But feel free to enrobe the whole thing in meringue if that’s more your vibe. Speaking of meringue, I opt for Swiss over Italian. Purely for ease. You don’t need a thermometer to make it and it’s generally less faffy. A quick once over with the blow torch for extra toastiness and you’re good to go!

Another bonus of making them this way in smaller versions, is that you can have different scoops of ice cream in each one. A Russian roulette of baked alaskas if you will. How fun!

Let me know your baked alaska thoughts in the comments. Is it a dessert you enjoy making? Have you been put off by them in the past?Are you a purist that has to bake the meringue in the oven? For my fellow Brits, is it even a dessert that’s on your radar? I’d love to know.

If you’re making these over the weekend, enjoy!

Benjamina x

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MINI BAKED ALASKAS

You can build these as stand alone desserts or in a coupe or ice cream sundae bowl for some additional stability. For extra organisation, you can make the cake and jam the day before and then assemble when you’re ready to serve. Once you’ve added the scoop of ice cream to the cake, add the meringue on top straight away before it starts to melt. Trying to spoon meringue onto a dripping ball of ice cream will get very messy, very quickly. Trust me.

RECIPE

makes 6

For the cake:
100g unsalted butter
30g coconut oil
170g plain flour
130g caster sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
150ml coconut milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
150g desiccated coconut

For the raspberry jam:
200g raspberries
65g caster sugar
squeeze of lemon juice

For the meringue:
130g egg whites
190g caster sugar
pinch of salt

To assemble:
6 scoops of ice cream

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 160c fan/180c. Grease and line a 9 inch round cake tin.

2. Melt the butter and coconut oil together in the microwave or in a small saucepan. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

4. In a small jug, whisk together the coconut milk, eggs and vanilla until combined.

5. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix briefly until mostly combined. Pour in the butter and stir it in to get a smooth batter.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let it cool completely.

7. Prepare the jam by adding the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Let it bubble away for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until it looks glossy and syrupy. Remove from the heat and pour it into a shallow bowl to cool.

8. When the cake is completely cool, use a cutter approximately 6 -7cm to cut out 6 discs. (Snack on the scraps or save them for a mini trifle or just crumble over ice cream.) If the cake baked a little unevenly, you can trim it down with a sharp bread knife to make it level.

9. Pour the desiccated coconut out onto a tray. Dip each disc of cake into the raspberry jam - you can use a pastry brush or palette knife to help spread it around the surface and sides.

10. Add the cake to the tray of desiccated coconut and roll it around to make sure it’s covered. Repeat with all the pieces of cake.

11. When you’re nearly ready to serve, start making the meringue. Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer or a heatproof bowl and whisk briefly to combine. Bring a pan of water to the boil and place the bowl on top.

12. Whisk the whites frequently whilst they heat up. Once the mixture is hot to the touch (not just the bowl), looks frothy and the sugar has completely dissolved remove the bowl from the heat.

13. Add the bowl to the stand mixer or use an electric whisk to whip on medium-high speed until the meringue is thick and glossy with stiff peaks. Add a pinch of salt and whisk briefly to combine.

14. To assemble, place each cake on a plate, serving platter or in a coupe.

15. Top each one with a scoop of ice cream. Add a big dollop of meringue on top and use a palette knife to carefully and quickly cover the ice cream. Don’t worry about making it perfectly smooth.

16. Use a blowtorch to toast the meringue until well browned. Serve them straight away.