Baked Alaska

donna

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Joined
May 12, 2010
Location
Now Florida but always a Kentuckian
I thought I had posted on this elaborate dessert but couldn't find it. With Pat Young's thread on Seward's Folly, Purchase of Alaska, thought we needed thread on the dessert named in its honor.

Many have claimed they originated this famous dessert. But the most famous one was the cake created by Charles Ranhofer in 1867. He was the French chef at the famous Delmonico's Restaurant in New York City. He created the dessert to celebrate the United States purchase of Alaska from the Russians.

See: https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/IceCream/BakedAlaska.htm
 
For those very brave bakers here's Martha Stewart's recipe for the classic dessert -

Ingredients -
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
  • 3 large egg whites, room temperature
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 pints pistachio ice cream, slightly softened
  • 1 1/2 pints cherry ice cream or berry sorbet, slightly softened
  • Swiss Meringue
  • Vegetable oil cooking spray
Directions - http://www.marthastewart.com/340209/baked-alaska


And to demonstrate the sheer difficulty in preparing this unique treat -

 
I thought I had posted on this elaborate dessert but couldn't find it. With Pat Young's thread on Seward's Folly, Purchase of Alaska, thought we needed thread on the dessert named in its honor.

Many have claimed they originated this famous dessert. But the most famous one was the cake created by Charles Ranhofer in 1867. He was the French chef at the famous Delmonico's Restaurant in New York City. He created the dessert to celebrate the United States purchase of Alaska from the Russians.

See: https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/IceCream/BakedAlaska.htm
Delmonico's is famous for creating so many great dishes as they were the place to be seen way back then.
 
Love Baked Alaska! Tried it once recently at a fancy restaurant in the city that still serves the classic dessert. It's not the easiest thing to make as the below video from the British Bake Show confirms.

Anna Elizabeth. I love to watch the Great British Baking Show. It's a tremendous series. Very educational. All the participants make the recipes look so easy. I like anything British, especially since my paternal grandmother was from London, England. David.
 
Donna. I love Baked Alaska. It is one of my all time favorite desserts. I make a quick version of Baked Alaska using two pieces of store bought pound cake with vanilla ice cream placed in between the slices and completely covered with homemade meringue. It is very important to cover the entire dessert. Place the contents into a 375 degree oven until the meringue browns. Its delicious!!! David.
 
Anna Elizabeth. I love to watch the Great British Baking Show. It's a tremendous series. Very educational. All the participants make the recipes look so easy. I like anything British, especially since my paternal grandmother was from London, England. David.

I LOVE the show, too! Very interesting and you do always learn something about baking in every episode. I too love British things and discovered last year with Ancestry DNA I'm 56% British and my dad is a whopping 94% British. It caught us both by surprise as our ancestors have been here since before the American Revolution! At least now I know why I'm such an Anglophile! :geek:
 
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I LOVE the show, too! Very interesting and you do always learn something about baking in every episode. I too love British things and discovered last year with Ancestry DNA I'm 56% British and my dad is a whopping 94% British. It caught us both by surprise as our ancestors have been here since before the American Revolution! At least now I know why I'm suck an Anglophile! :geek:
Anna Elizabeth. Unfortunately, my paternal grandmother, who was 100 percent English, died before I was born. Her father was a surgeon in London. My paternal grandfather, who was 100 percent Italian, also died before I was born. On my mother side of the family, all of them are 100 percent Scottish according to our family tree records. David.
 
Anna Elizabeth. Unfortunately, my paternal grandmother, who was 100 percent English, died before I was born. Her father was a surgeon in London. My paternal grandfather, who was 100 percent Italian, also died before I was born. On my mother side of the family, all of them are 100 percent Scottish according to our family tree records. David.

That's so unfortunate, but I do know how you feel, both my paternal grandparents died before I born as well. I do feel blessed to have at least had a very tight bond with my maternal grandparents well into my 30's! I believe I may be Scottish as well, as I noticed some family names in the tree are Scottish surnames, but I'm still working on that - genealogy is a long and time consuming task when you start with hardly anything!
 
That's so unfortunate, but I do know how you feel, both my paternal grandparents died before I born as well. I do feel blessed to have at least had a very tight bond with my maternal grandparents well into my 30's! I believe I may be Scottish as well, as I noticed some family names in the tree are Scottish surnames, but I'm still working on that - genealogy is a long and time consuming task when you start with hardly anything!
Anna Elizabeth. We have quite a mixture of cultures that have contributed immensely to the development of our beloved United States of America. David.
 
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