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.
Prep Time30 minutes mins
Total Time30 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, British
Servings: 6 People
Author: Ben Racey
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)
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!
1. Christmas Pudding Ice Cream - I used my Christmas pudding & brandy butter ice cream for my baked alaskas but feel free to use a different flavour if you'd prefer.
2. Gingerbread Cake - I used my Baileys gingerbread loaf cake for this dessert but feel free to use a different recipe or type of cake if you like.
3. Half Sphere Mould - For my ice cream, I used a half sphere mould with cavities that are around 7cm wide (I've linked this in the post above under "equipment used"). If you haven't got one of these, you can scoop the ice cream instead.
4. Italian Meringue - Italian meringue is best served immediately but will keep for a day or so in the fridge. You might need to give the meringue a quick whisk before using, if it's been in the fridge for more than a few hours.