Individual Christmas Baked Alaskas
These individual Christmas baked alaskas are made with Christmas pudding ice cream, gingerbread cake & toasted Italian meringue. They’re a festive twist on the classic dessert.
This post contains affiliate links.
I don’t know about you but I’m a huge fan of any dessert that involves ice cream, cake & toasted meringue!
Baked alaskas may look impressive but are actually super easy to make. In fact, individual ones are even easier to make than the classic, larger ones. It’s all about the prep with this dessert as it comes together at the last minute, however it only uses a few components & both the cake & ice cream can be made several days in advance!
One of the best things about baked alaskas, is that you can make it to suit your taste. These ones are made with Christmas in mind so we’re using a festive gingerbread cake as the base & a Christmas pudding ice cream for the centre. I made both of these myself, but this is optional. Store bought ice cream & cakes both work fantastically for this dessert.
What Is A Baked Alaska?
A baked alaska is a dessert consisting of a cake base layer, an ice cream centre & a coating of toasted meringue (either Italian or Swiss). The meringue acts as a layer of insulation, meaning that the ice cream will still be frozen, even after the meringue has been toasted.
For more festive desserts, check out our collection of Christmas dessert recipes! Here you’ll find classic festive puddings, homemade ice creams & more…
Components Of A Christmas Baked Alaska
The great thing about baked alaska, is that you can customise them however you like. This dessert only has a few components, so it’s key to make each one as tasty as possible!
If you’re not a fan of Christmas pudding ice cream or gingerbread cake then feel free to swap these out for something else. A good vanilla ice cream & some homemade chocolate brownie would be some good alternatives.
Gingerbread Loaf Cake
Like with most baked alaskas, we’re using a piece of cake for the base layer. And as we’re making a Christmas version, we’re going with a festive Baileys gingerbread cake. This gingerbread is generously spiced & flavoured with Irish liqueur. It’s a grown up version of a festive gingerbread & it works fantastically in this dessert.
To make 6 alaskas, you’ll need a whole loaf of gingerbread. We’re going to be cutting this into 2 cm thick slices then using a circular cutter to cut out a disc from the centre of each slice.
A quick note: This gingerbread is best made the day before being served, as this lets the flavours develop. If you’re using a different cake, make sure that it’s completely cool before using otherwise it will melt the ice cream.
Christmas Pudding Ice Cream
Next up, we have the ice cream. I’ve used a batch of my homemade Christmas pudding & brandy butter ice cream but feel free to use whatever you like – it doesn’t have to be homemade!
When you make a regular, large baked alaska, you set the ice cream inside a bowl/pudding basin to make a dome shape. This is then placed on top of the cake & the meringue is spread over, to cover. We’re doing the same for our individual baked alaskas, only smaller. To do this, we take a tray of half sphere moulds, fill it up with ice cream then leave in the freezer for a few hours, to set. Then when we go to assemble the alaskas, the ice cream simply turns out of the mould.
Don’t worry if you haven’t got any moulds, the ice cream can be scooped instead. Just make sure to add a generous scoop of ice cream on top of the cake, so that it’s completely covered. This way, there won’t be any gaps inside the alaska.
Italian Meringue
For the outside of our individual Christmas baked alaskas, we’re using a glossy Italian meringue. This type of meringue is made by whisking a hot sugar syrup into egg whites & is incredibly stable and requires no further cooking as the syrup has already cooked the eggs. However, we’re going to be torching the meringue with a blowtorch, for a toasted, caramelised flavour and a classic alaska serve.
Italian Meringue – Step By Step
- Add egg whites & cream of tartar into the bowl of a stand mixer then set aside.
- Next, place caster sugar & cold water into a saucepan then set over a medium-high.
- Bring the syrup to the boil then cook, without stirring until it reaches 121°c/249°f. If there’s any sugar granules up the side of the pan, use a pastry brush dipped in cold water to dissolve it.
- When the syrup reaches 115°c/240°f, start whisking the egg whites on a medium-high speed, until they reach soft peaks. This will take 2-3 minutes.
- Once the syrup has reached 121°c/249°f, turn your mixer down to a medium speed then carefully pour the syrup into egg whites, in a thin, slow stream (it’s best to pour the syrup down the side of the bowl, to avoid hitting the whisk).
- Continue whisking the meringue on a medium-high speed until it has cooled, reached stiff peaks & is glossy. This will take 5-10 minutes.
How To Assemble Individual Baked Alaskas
These individual Christmas baked alaskas make a fantastic make-ahead dessert. It’s all about the prep here, as the alaskas come together just before they are served. They only take a couple of minutes to assemble. Here’s how…
- Cut your gingerbread loaf into 6, 2cm thick slices then use a 7cm circular cutter to cut a disc out of the centre of each slice. Place each disc of cake onto its’ own plate.
- Top each disc of cake with a half sphere of ice cream (or a generous scoop).
- Next, pipe a generous amount of Italian meringue around the outside of each alaska then use the back of a spoon to spread the meringue out, to completely cover the ice cream & cake and to rough up the edges, making tiny peaks & spikes.
- Toast the meringue with a blowtorch then serve the baked alaskas straight away!
Baked Alaska Tips & Tricks
- Set your ice cream in half sphere moulds, for a mini version of a regular baked alaska.
- For the best tasting alaskas, make your own cake & ice cream.
- Use the back of a spoon to make lots of small peaks & spikes in the Italian meringue before torching, for extra texture & flavour. These bits of meringue will be extra toasted & caramelised!
- Accurately measure the temperature of the sugar syrup when making the Italian meringue, to give it the correct consistency & texture.
- Use slightly older eggs for your meringue as fresh ones don’t whip up as well. It’s also best to use room temperature eggs when making meringue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes baked alaskas can be made in advance, in fact it’s all about the prep with this dessert! The ice cream can be frozen in moulds a week in advance, the cake can be made up to 3 days ahead of time & the Italian meringue can be made up to a day in advance (although it’s best used straight away).
It’s best to toast individual baked alaskas with a blowtorch but if you haven’t got one, you can toast the meringue under a grill (set to high) or in an oven set to 240°c/464°f. As individual baked alaskas are smaller, they’ll one take a minute or two to toast.
The best way to toast individual baked alaskas is with a blowtorch. Not only is it quicker to toast alaskas with a blowtorch, it also gives the ice cream centre less chance to melt.
Equipment Used
Please note that these are affiliate links & I may make a small commission if you make a purchase using these links, at no extra cost to you. For more information, click here.
More Festive Recipes To Try!
- Guinness Christmas Pudding
- Brandy & Vanilla Custard
- Baileys Vanilla Rice Pudding
- Leftover Christmas Pudding Flapjack
- Stollen Buns
- Classic Mince Pies
If you have enjoyed this Christmas baked alaska recipe, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review & rating. And if you’d like to stay up to date with future recipes, follow us on Instagram & TikTok!
Individual Christmas Baked Alaskas
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Digital Food Probe
- Piping Bags
- 7 cm Circular Cutter
- Blowtorch
- 6 Hole Half Sphere Mould (See Notes)
Ingredients
Italian Meringue
- 120 g Egg Whites
- ½ tsp Cream Of Tartar
- 240 g Caster Sugar
- 75 g Cold Water
To Assemble
- 1 Baileys Gingerbread Loaf Cake (See Notes)
- 1 Litre Christmas Pudding Ice Cream (See Notes)
Instructions
- If you've got a 6 hole half sphere mould, fill it up with the ice cream then leave to set in the freezer for at least 4 hours. If you haven't got a mould, the ice cream can be scooped instead, when we assemble the alaskas.
Italian Meringue
- Add the egg whites & cream of tartar into the bowl of a stand mixer then set to one side.Make sure that your bowl is clean & dry!
- Next, add the sugar & water into a small saucepan, set over a medium-high heat & bring to the boil (without stirring!). Continue cooking the syrup until it reaches 121°c/249°f.If there are any grains of sugar on the side of the pan, use a pastry brush dipped in cold water to dissolve it.
- When the syrup reaches 115°c/240°f, start whisking the egg whites on a medium-high speed, until they reach soft peaks. This will take 2-3 minutes.
- Once the syrup has reached 121°c/249°f, turn your mixer down to a medium speed then carefully pour the syrup into egg whites, in a thin, slow stream.It's best to pour the syrup down the side of the bowl, so that it doesn't hit the whisk & go everywhere!
- Continue whisking the meringue on a medium-high speed until it has cooled, reached stiff peaks & is glossy. This will take 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer the Italian meringue into a piping bag then set to one side.If you haven't got a piping bag, you could spoon the meringue over the ice cream instead.
Assembly
- Cut the gingerbread cake into 6, 2cm thick slices then use a 7cm circular cutter to cut out a circle from the centre of each slice. Place each disc of cake onto their own plate.
- Next, top each disc of cake with a half sphere of ice cream (or a generous scoop).
- Cut the end off the piping bag then pipe a generous amount of meringue around the outside of each alaska. Don't worry if the meringue doesn't completely cover the cake & ice cream at this point!
- Next, use the back of a spoon to spread the meringue out, to completely cover the ice cream & cake and to rough up the edges, making tiny peaks & spikes.
- Use a blowtorch to toast the meringue all over then serve!
