Strawberry Baked Alaska
An innovative frozen dessert: ice cream filling layered with strawberry cookie crumbs and Italian meringue, baked until the outside turns lightly golden while the inside stays frozen.
Ingredients
strawberries
300 g
icing sugar
2~3 tbsp
vanilla ice cream
1.5 l
flour (extra for dusting pan)
125 g
salt
a pinch
unsalted butter (extra for greasing pan)
60 g
eggs
4
caster sugar (for the sponge)
135 g
vanilla extract
1 tsp
caster sugar (for the Italian meringue) (extra for dusting)
450 g
water
250 ml
egg whites
9
Instructions
1
Bake the sponge
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease the baking pan with butter, line it with baking paper, then grease the paper again and dust with 2 tbsp of flour, shaking the pan to coat evenly. Add the salt to the remaining flour and sift together. Melt the butter and leave to cool. Place the eggs in a bowl and beat briefly with an electric mixer. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 5 minutes until the mixture is thick and fluffy. Finally add the vanilla extract and stir to combine. Sift in 1/3 of the flour and fold in gently, then add another 1/3 and fold in, and finally fold in the remaining 1/3 together with the melted butter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and gently tap the sides of the pan to level the surface and release any air bubbles. Bake for 30–40 minutes, until the sponge has risen and feels firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack, peel off the baking paper, and leave to cool completely.
2
Prepare the strawberry purée
Hull the strawberries with a small knife, washing them only if necessary. Blend the strawberries in a food processor to a smooth purée. Add the icing sugar to taste; you should end up with approximately 375 ml of purée.
3
Make the Italian meringue
Dissolve 450 g of sugar in the water and bring to the boil without stirring, until the syrup reaches hard-ball stage (about 120°C). Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer for 3–5 minutes until thick and holding stiff peaks, then continue beating while gradually pouring in the hot syrup. Keep beating the meringue for a further 5 minutes until it has cooled and forms stiff, glossy peaks.
4
Assemble the cake
Grease a heatproof serving plate with butter. Take the ice cream out of the freezer and leave at room temperature until just softened. Trim about 2.5 cm from each side of the sponge so that it forms a 15 cm square. Using a serrated knife, slice the square sponge horizontally into two equal layers. Place the two layers side by side on the plate with the cut sides facing up to form a rectangle. Pulse the sponge trimmings in the food processor to fine crumbs and stir in 250 ml of the strawberry purée. Spread the remaining 125 ml of strawberry purée over the sponges, then place scoops of ice cream on each layer. Use a palette knife to spread a thin smooth layer of ice cream over the top of the scoops, then quickly spread over the strawberry–crumb mixture. Spoon half of the Italian meringue onto the cake and spread it evenly over the entire surface, smoothing the sides flush with the plate so there are no gaps. Transfer the remaining meringue to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe a continuous decorative border around the sides of the cake. Pipe two rows of swirls on top, then place the cake in the freezer for 2 hours.
5
Toast and serve
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Take the cake out of the freezer, dust the meringue with caster sugar and leave to stand for 1 minute. Bake for 3–5 minutes until the meringue is lightly golden, then serve immediately.
