Pumpkin-Apple Baked Alaska
Baked Alaska is a very classic American dessert that has seen a lot of love, it is ice cream sandwiched between two layers of sponge cake that’s encased in a fluffy meringue that is then lightly caramelized. It’s essentially the ultimate ice cream cake.
Fun fact, despite the name baked Alaska was not originally made in Alaska, it was made in 1876 at the famous Delmonico’s in New York City, one of the oldest restaurants in the US that’s still running today, to honor the acquisition by the US of Alaska from Russia in March, 1867.
As tasty as it can be, Baked Alaska does come with one problem in that it’s typically made with vanilla cake and vanilla ice cream on top of the meringue, which leads up to sweet on top of sweet on top of sweet, so what I wanted to do was figure out a way to add some depth of flavor like spice, fruit and tartness to help make it much more palatable.
Since it is the Fall season, I think the combination of pumpkin and apple will deliver that punch of flavor that I’m after. My idea is to make a pumpkin sheet cake sandwiching an apple ice cream that will be covered in a torched almond flavored Italian meringue.
Italian meringue is different from the French or Swiss meringue in that it involves drizzling a hot sugar syrup into the egg whites as they whip, making for a very stiff meringue that is perfect for freezing.
Serves 8-10
Difficulty: Intermediate (Although honestly the trickiest part of this dessert is the meringue)
Total time: 2 hours plus freezing time
For the Pumpkin Sponge Cake:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
a pinch of ground cloves
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
For the Apple Ice Cream:
1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
3 yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Green food coloring
3 Granny smith apples (or any tart apple you like), peeled, cored, and diced
1 tbsp lemon juice
For the Almond Italian Meringue:
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3 egg whites, reserved from using the yolks for your ice cream
1/2 tsp cream of tartar or salt
1/2 tsp almond extract
(Fun fact, prior to writing this I have never actually made Baked Alaska and don’t think I’ve ever had it either, but the techniques seem pretty simple so I thought I’d give it a go and I think it came out very good!)
Step 1: Make the Pumpkin Sponge Cake
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees then grease and line 2 9-inch round baking pans with parchment paper.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a small bowl, then set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, and pumpkin puree until very smooth, then add in the flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
Divide the batter among the two pans, then bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pans then take them out to cool completely. (Don’t forget to remove the parchment paper!)
Step 2: Make the Apple Ice Cream
Combine 1/2 cup of sugar with the milk, salt and egg yolks (Keep the whites for your meringue) in a saucepan, then cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture almost reaches a boil. Pour into a chilled heatproof bowl then leave it in the fridge uncovered for about an hour to chill.
Once cold, stir in the heavy cream, vanilla, and 3 to 4 drops of green food coloring. You’re aiming for a lime green.
Place half of the apples into a food processor with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and lemon juice, then pulse about 10 times, until coarsely chopped. Add the remaining apples and pulse until finely chopped but not mashed.
Stir the apple mixture into the cream mixture, then run that through an ice cream maker for about 20 minutes, or until it reaches a soft serve consistency.
When the cakes are completely cooled, place one cake layer on the bottom of a springform cake pan lined with either parchment or acetate sheets. Pour in the now-frozen ice cream and spread into an even layer. (You definitely want to make sure the cakes are cooled completely before you do this or your beautiful ice cream will melt and make the cake soggy!)
Invert the other cake layer on top so you have a nice flat top, then place the whole thing into the freezer for at least 2 hours, or until very firm.
Step 3: Make the Almond Italian Meringue
Heat up the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves and an even pattern of bubbles begin to form.
Meanwhile, in an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar/salt on low until the egg whites begin to look foamy and white.
Take the sugar syrup off the heat and, slowly and very carefully, pour the hot syrup onto the side of the bowl so it cools down a bit. Keep pouring in the syrup in a thin, steady stream until it is all incorporated and dissolved, then increase the mixer speed to medium-high and keep whipping until the egg whites cool down and reach stiff, firm, glossy peaks.
Add in the almond extract, and it’s done!
Step 4: Apply the Meringue to the Cake
Once frozen and your meringue is ready, remove the cake from the freezer then remove the sides of the springform pan along with the parchment/acetate strip.
Now, you could pipe on the meringue at this stage but I prefer to spread it on with an offset spatula like you’d frost any regular cake. Just use the spatula to smooth the meringue into an even layer on the top and sides of the cake.
Drag a fork through various parts of the meringue to create little decorative peaks.
(From here you could torch the meringue and serve it right away or let it sit in the freezer for a bit so there’s less stress while you’re making dinner
If you’re going to do this, then I suggest letting it sit out for about 10 minutes before serving because the cake would otherwise be ice hard and I’m sure you don’t want your dessert to come with an ice pick.)
Once frozen, use a kitchen blowtorch to brown the outside of the meringue, being very careful not to burn the meringue completely, then serve.
(If you don’t have a kitchen torch, don’t worry, you could pop the whole thing under the broiler for a few minutes. Be careful, because if you leave it in too long, the ice cream could start to melt)
