classic dishes

State of Bliss

by Patricia Bates

Everyone wants cake and ice cream for their birthday, and Alaskans do, too. But when they celebrate 50 years of statehood on Jan. 3, theirs may be topped with a layer of sweet, warm baked meringue. The confection of cake, ice cream and meringue, first known as “Alaska Florida,” was created in the late 1860s at Delmonico’s Restaurant in New York City to commemorate Alaska’s status as a U.S. territory. By 1886, a simplified version, known as “Alaska Bake,” appeared in the Philadelphia Cook Book, and within two years, it appeared on New York menus as “Baked Alaska.” Today, the classic Baked Alaska is still on the menu at Delmonico’s with a banana candy ice cream and Turkish apricot compote.

Our recipe, created by Chef Kirsten Dixon at Alaska’s Winterlake Lodge, is a simplified version using purchased pound cake as the base. While easy to make, there’s no skimping on the meringue—you’ll have peaks as lofty at Mount McKinley in Alaska’s Denali National Park.

Baked Alaska

Photography:Mark Boughton; Styling: Teresa Blackburn

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Winterlake Lodge’s Chef Kirsten Dixon serves Baked Alaska with berries sweetened with a little sugar and cassis.

Ingredients

1 (11-ounce) pound cake
1 pint vanilla ice cream
½ cup sugar
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Cut pound cake lengthwise to make 1⁄2-inch thick slices. Cut 8 circles from slices using a 3-inch round cookie cutter. Place a scoop of ice cream on 4 rounds. Top each scoop of ice cream with the remaining rounds of cake. Press down lightly and, using a knife, smooth away any ice cream that has pressed out the sides. Place on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze at least 15 minutes.
2. Fill a large saucepan with 1-inch of water. Bring to a simmer. In a double boiler or a metal bowl that will fit over the saucepan, place sugar, egg whites, water and cream of tartar. Set bowl over simmering water and beat with a handheld mixer at low speed, 3 to 5 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer registers 140F.
3. Increase speed to high and continue beating 3 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and beat until cool, about 4 minutes. When peaks form, beat in vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 15 minutes.
4. When ready to assemble, preheat the boiler. Remove cakes from freezer, and quickly spread with meringue, swirling to make peaks. Place cakes under broiler, as close to the flame as possible, to brown the meringue tips, about 1 minute. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Recipe adapted with permission from The Winterlake Lodge Cookbook (2003). "State of Bliss," Jan. 2009.

Nutritional Information

Per serving: 420 calories, 17g fat, 60mg chol., 7g prot., 64g carbs., 1g fiber, 310mg sodium.

Story by Patricia Bates, a food writer in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. Recipe courtesy of Winterlake Lodge in Alaska.