Martha Stewart Baked Alaska

Martha Stewart Baked Alaska is a showstopping dessert made with chocolate cake, pistachio and cherry ice cream, and toasted Swiss meringue, ready in 3 hours 45 minutes. Try this easy dessert for Christmas or Fourth of July, since it's make-ahead and the ice cream dome freezes up to a day before.

Freeze the ice cream dome until it is rock hard, at least 2 hours, before you flip it onto the cake. Skip that and the dome slumps under the warm meringue before it ever reaches the table.

Martha packs the ice cream into a metal mixing bowl lined with plastic, which gives the dessert its tall dome shape. Her cake gets its light, tender crumb from whipped egg whites instead of baking powder, so it stays soft even when frozen.

Martha Stewart Baked Alaska

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Hard

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Calories

360

kcal

A thin chocolate cake lifted by whipped egg whites holds a dome of pistachio and cherry ice cream under swirls of Swiss meringue. A quick blast of heat toasts the peaks while the inside stays frozen solid.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons sugar
  

• 3 large egg yolks
  

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  

• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
  

• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
  

• Pinch of salt
  

• 1 1/2 pints pistachio ice cream, slightly softened
  

• 1 1/2 pints cherry ice cream or berry sorbet, slightly softened
  

• Swiss Meringue
  

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
  

Directions

• Prepare the pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper, then spray it with cooking spray.
• Whisk the yolks: Combine 3 tablespoons sugar and 3 large egg yolks in a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed until pale yellow and thick, about 15 minutes. Then add 1 teaspoon vanilla and fold in 3 ounces melted, cooled bittersweet chocolate just to combine.
• Whip the whites: Whip 3 room-temperature egg whites with a pinch of salt on medium speed until frothy. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and beat until stiff, then fold the whites into the chocolate mixture.
• Bake the cake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes. It's done when the cake is set and the top looks dull, so cool it on a wire rack.
• Pack the ice cream: Spray a 5-cup metal bowl with cooking spray and line it with plastic wrap. Pack the base with 1 1/2 pints softened pistachio ice cream. Then layer 1 1/2 pints cherry ice cream or berry sorbet over it and finish with more pistachio, pressing firmly as you go.
• Freeze until hard: Cover the surface with plastic wrap and put the bowl in the freezer. Freeze at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours ahead, until the ice cream is very hard.
• Unmold onto the cake: Set the cake on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Invert the bowl over the cake, keep the ice cream covered with plastic wrap, and return it to the freezer.
• Pipe the meringue: Preheat the oven to 500°F. Fill a pastry bag fitted with an Ateco #5 star tip with Swiss meringue and pipe it over the ice cream, or spoon it on and swirl with a spatula. If the ice cream starts to soften, return the cake to the freezer for 15 minutes.
• Brown and serve: Bake for 1 to 2 minutes, just until the meringue starts to brown. Serve it immediately.

Tools for this recipe

• KitchenAid Artisan 5-quart stand mixer, Riccle piping bags and tips set, Sondiko refillable butane kitchen torch, Lindt Excellence 70% cocoa bars, 12 pack. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

FAQs

Can I brown the meringue without an oven?

Yes, a small handheld kitchen torch works just as well. Wave it slowly over the peaks until they darken, which takes about a minute, and the ice cream stays frozen since the heat never reaches the inside.

How do I store leftover baked Alaska?

Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it for up to one month. I'd freeze individual slices rather than the whole dome, because that makes serving a single portion much easier later.

Can I make baked Alaska ahead of time?

You can freeze the ice cream dome up to 24 hours ahead, and the finished, unbaked dessert can wait in the freezer until serving. Only do the meringue and the quick browning right before you bring it to the table.

Can I swap the ice cream flavors?

Really, the recipe says to layer the ice creams and sorbets however you like. Keep the total at about 3 pints so it fills the 5-cup bowl, and use firm flavors that will hold their layers.

Why did my ice cream melt while I piped the meringue?

The kitchen was probably too warm or the dome wasn't frozen hard enough before you started. If it starts to soften, slide the cake back into the freezer for 15 minutes, then finish piping.