Baked Alaska recipe made in ramekins. Mini baked Alaskas that are individually portioned. Full of black cherry sorbet, a small slice of cake, and homemade marshmallow meringue.
I've been carrying around this little notebook for 5 ½ years. In it, I write all the desserts I want to scale down for two. I'm always consulting the list and checking things off. It's because of this little notebook that I've never experienced burn-out here in this space. There are always more sugary sweets out there to scale down to serve two. Life is pretty sweet, friends.
I reach for my trusty notebook when I eat at a restaurant with an inspiring dessert menu. I reach for it on Monday afternoons during the period of time I block off on my calendar for creative daydreaming. (Yes, I really do that. Try it!) Lately, I've been reaching for it often at the end of the day to scribble in my current cravings...which then become tomorrow's reality. I'm taking full advantage of the extra calories breast feeding is burning, to put it nicely. I eat dessert daily. Sometimes twice.
Baked Alaska Recipe
I think this Baked Alaska recipe has been on the list for close to 5 years. I'm not sure what took me so long to make it. It's a great little posh dessert--a slice of sponge cake covered with ice cream of your choice, all schmeared with meringue that gets toasted just before serving. It's like cake meets ice cream with toasted marshmallow. In the words of Queen Ina, "how bad can that be?" Answer: not bad at all; freaking fantastic, actually.
Sorbet in mini Baked Alaskas in ramekins:
When I spotted this black cherry sorbet at a specialty shop, I knew it was time to make Baked Alaskas for two. You can use any flavor or sorbet that you think is fancy. Though I didn't make the sorbet myself, I did stuff another one of those dang cherries that I just can't get rid of in the center. (Like two cherries are really making a dent in the jar, though). Here's a link for the dark Morello cherries I use the most.
You can make this recipe serve way more than 2 by using the sponge cake recipe from my Shortcut Tres Leches Cakes. Or, you can half that recipe exactly and make it in a loaf pan. Just a note: half a tablespoon is 1.5 teaspoons. Be precise! In both cases, add a splash of almond extract. Frozen sponge cake leaves a lot to be desired in the flavor department, but extract saves the day. Vanilla would be fantastic here, or lemon extract would work, too.
Make Ahead Baked Alaska Recipe plan:
Ok, so prep. Let's chat. I made the sponge cake the day before. While it was cooling, I scooped perfect spheres of sorbet using an ice cream scoop. The trick to getting perfect orbs is leveling it off in the scoop. Just scrape it against the side of the pint. Then, use a wet thumb to make a hole to stuff the cherry inside. (That is officially the weirdest sentence I've ever typed on this blog. Oh wait. I talked all about puking on my boyfriend once). The stuffed cherry part is optional, ok? You can stack the sorbet scoop on top of the cake and freeze it overnight. Or, put the sorbet scoops on cupcake liners and freeze, like I did.
The egg white meringue part is the only thing that has to happen just before serving. So, when it's go-time, whip the egg whites with sugar. You can use a piping bag or just schmear them on the sorbet-cake bombes with a spoon--imperfection is the goal so we get ridges for toasting. If you opt for a spoon, drag the edges of a fork to make even more ridges before brulee-ing. You can do it!
This baked Alaska recipe is easily double or tripled to feed a crowd, but I highly suggest making it small when you're learning. One of the big reasons I love baking for two is that it's a chance to practice on a small amount of ingredients. If you've never made a type of dessert before, it might fail, and that's a lot of wasted ingredients when you're using regular-sized recipes. So, start here and make two mini baked Alaskas. Once you've mastered two, you're ready to scale up and feed a crowd. Don't forget to make the cake and pre-scoop the sorbet the day before, just to make it easy on yourself on serving day.
These individual baked Alaskas are the perfect dessert for two! *You could top the sorbet scoops on the cake and freeze overnight.Mini Baked Alaskas!
Ingredients
For the rest:
Instructions
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 504Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 192mgCarbohydrates: 94gFiber: 4gSugar: 85gProtein: 11g
Sammie says
I love the idea of individual desserts. Not only do they look really gorgeous but you have instant portion control? These baked Alaskas look amazing. Thanks for a great recipe. Sammie http://www.feastingisfun.com
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
I'm definitely a dessert everyday (twice sometimes!) kind of person. And I don't even have a cute baby hanging off my breast for an excuse (ok, that might be the weirdest sentence I've ever written on a blog!). These are just gorgeous and totally stopped me in my tracks this morning. Also, clearly I need to be torching more things.
Sarah | Broma Bakery says
Brilliant. That black cherry sorbet is flirting with me, and I like it :)
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
This totally just made me squee! These are so pretty girl!! LOVE!
Erin@WellPlated says
My Grammy made me baked Alaska once for my bday, and I've never forgotten it. Way to tackle your dessert bucket list!
Christina Lane says
That is so sweet :)
Amanda says
I love the idea of baked Alaska for two! What a great presentation. And that sorbet looks like the bomb! ???? They look fabulous and scrumptious.
Nicole @ Young, Broke and Hungry says
I have always wanted to make baked alaska's! This post is the kick in the booty I needed.
Hannah says
Adorable and undoubtedly delicious! Baked Alaska is one of those show-stopping desserts that everyone loves, but is almost never served anymore. It's such a shame. I say we're long over due for a baked Alaska renaissance, perhaps in miniature format. ;)
Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life says
As a child of the 80s Baked Alaskas were the height of fashion in every cookbook my Mum owned. I remember being fascinated by them as a little girl. All these years later and I still haven't tried one! I think it's time to change that! Get me to the kitchen, stat! And bring on some fancy sorbet - I think mango might be my choice :)
Oh, and I love scheduled creative daydreaming time - I'm adding that to my roster!
Christina Lane says
Mango sorbet sounds dreamy!!!
Cindy says
This is the prettiest, fancy-ass dessert I have seen! It's like an ice cream geode.