Baked Alaska x 2

I went to a wedding this past weekend in New Orleans, and one of the culinary highlights was the Baked Alaska dessert served at the rehearsal dinner. It's a specialty of the house at Antoine's, the French Quarter institution where this dinner was held.

After we'd finished the entree (trout almondine), waiters walked the room showing off the massive uncut Baked Alaskas, the outer layer of meringue decorated with the names of the bride and groom. Then the lights were dimmed and the ice cream-cake-meringue confections were ceremoniously torched. Baked Alaska is ice cream wrapped in a layer of sponge cake, then covered with a thick layer of meringue that gets all toasted-marshmallowy when torched. At Antoine's, they served each slice with a big dollop of warm chocolate sauce. It was absolutely delicious.

When I returned to school this week, I started my next rotation: Advanced Baking & Pastry. And by the title of this post, I'm sure you can guess what we started to make on the first day. Yep, we tackled the seemingly-complicated Baked Alaska. How do you keep the ice cream frozen? Well, we made the ice cream on the first day and froze it in logs. We then baked thin sheets of sponge cake and after they cooled overnight, wrapped the logs with the cake. Then the meringue is piped on with a pastry bag and the whole thing goes back into the freezer until it is ready to torch and serve.

Pre-meringue Baked Alaska, filled with chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice creams (Neapolitan)

We also made a few mini Baked Alaskas in ramekins, just by putting a round of cake on the bottom, topping it with ice cream, and placing another round "lid" of cake on top. This was capped with meringue and torched.

Baked Alaska for one

They were tasty, but as proud as I am of our work, it could never have measured up to the one I tasted in New Orleans. Even Zack, the non-dessert-person, was hoping for Baked Alaska the minute he learned that we'd be having dinner at Antoine's, and it did not disappoint. Actually, it was a big sweets weekend for him...

Gratuitous photo of Zack eating beignets at Cafe du Monde

"Is there any powdered sugar on my face?"