Neapolitan Baked Alaska
If a showstopping dessert is on your festive checklist this Christmas, then look no further. With those iconic neapolitan ice cream layers surrounded by a fluffy meringue with a crisp, lightly scorched exterior, this is a Christmas dessert to remember. I’d highly advise getting a digital food thermometer when making the meringue, otherwise it’s very hard to know when the sugar syrup is ready.
Credited to: Becky Excell
Kcal:
Difficulty: Well worth the effort
Ingredients
For the filling
- 2 litre tub of neapolitan ice cream
For the sponge base
- 110g butter, softened
- 110g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 85g gluten free self raising flour *
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum
- 25g cocoa powder (or swap the same weight for extra flour if you prefer a vanilla sponge)
For the Italian meringue
- 100g egg whites (about 3–4 whites)
- 200g caster sugar
- 45ml water
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
Notes: *Check Coeliac UK's Food and Drink Information for suitable products
Method
- Remove the ice cream from the freezer so it softens a little. Prepare a small glass mixing bowl (use a bowl somewhere between 18–20cm or 7–8 inches in diameter) by placing 2–3 layers of cling film into the bowl with some overhang so the ice cream can be lifted out easily later
- Scoop the vanilla ice cream into the base of the bowl and compact it down to create a flat layer–it should be soft enough that you can smooth it over to level it. Pop this (and the ice-cream tub) into the freezer briefly to firm up. Remove the ice cream tub from the freezer again so it softens a little, then layer the strawberry ice cream on top of the vanilla in a flat, compacted layer. Finally, do the same with the chocolate ice cream. Place in the freezer to completely firm up for at least a couple of hours
- For the sponge, preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C/Gas Mark 4. Grease a 20cm (8in) round cake tin and line with non stick baking parchment
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy - I prefer to use an electric hand whisk for this. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, flour, xanthan gum and cocoa powder (if using). Mix together until combined
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 25–30 minutes until risen and cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave the sponge in its tin for about 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. If the sponge isn’t a similar diameter to the bowl that the ice cream is currently in, you can trim it down to be the same size, using a sharp knife (this is optional as the discrepancy in size can be masked when coated with meringue)
- I use a stand mixer to make the Italian meringue, but an electric hand whisk will do the job just fine too. If making by hand, ensure you mix for longer, until everything is well combined and consistent. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment in place, ready for later
- Add the sugar and water to a medium pan and mix until combined and gloopy; try to avoid getting any sugar up the sides of the pan. Place over a medium heat and work quickly from this point onwards. Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites in the stand mixer bowl and whisk on a medium speed until soft peaks form
- Once the sugar mixture reaches 118°C (you can check this using a digital food thermometer), remove it from the heat and carefully drizzle the sugar syrup into the stand mixer bowl while the mixer is still running. Try not to get the sugar syrup on the sides of the bowl as it will instantly harden and crystallize. Once all the syrup is combined, continue to whisk until the meringue is stiff, glossy and cooled
- Just before serving, place the sponge base on a serving plate (or a large baking tray lined with non stick baking parchment, if you don’t have a kitchen blowtorch). Remove the prepared ice cream from the freezer, turn out onto the centre of the sponge and peel off the cling film. Spoon on the Italian meringue until all the ice cream and sponge is covered, creating an igloo shape
- Ideally, use a kitchen blowtorch to brown the meringue. If you don’t have one, simply pop the Baked Alaska into a preheated oven at 220°C fan/ 240°C/Gas Mark 7 for a few minutes until lightly browned. As this contains ice cream, it must be served immediately, as the ice cream will completely melt when left out at room temperature. If you have space in your freezer, it can be stored in the freezer until ready to serve.
Hints and tips:
Instead of creating three layers of ice cream, you could simplify things and just use one flavour, which would remove the need to keep refreezing the layers in the bowl.
To clean the saucepan, you made your sugar syrup in, simply fill with boiling water. Add in any utensils used too. Bring it to a simmer for 5–10 minutes and all the sugar will magically dissolve into the water. Note if you use cold water to clean your pan, the sugar syrup will harden and be near impossible to remove!
Once you’ve blow torched or baked your Alaska, you can freeze this in an airtight container for up to 3 months. If you can't find an airtight container that will fit, simply slice and freeze in individual freezer bags.
