Serves 6
Baked Alaskas are a nice alternative to stodgy Christmas pudding, especially after a heavy meal. If you wish, make the sponge-cake base and ice-cream yourself, or buy a loaf of Golden Syrup cake and Baileys ice-cream if you want fewer things to worry about. You can also assemble the Alaskas the night before – the Italian meringue will hold because the hot syrup has effectively cooked the egg whites, making it quite stable.
About 1l Baileys-flavoured ice-cream
180g caster sugar
100ml water
3 large free-range egg whites
Squeeze of lemon juice
2 x 300g loafs Golden Syrup cake
1 First, prepare the Baileys ice-cream. Line 8 ramekins, 6-7cm in diameter, with large sheets of clingfilm and fill to the top with the ice-cream. Wrap well with the clingfilm overhanging at the sides, and freeze.
2 To make the meringue, place the sugar and water in a small heavy-based saucepan. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has melted, then increase the heat and boil the liquid until the syrup has thickened and starts to colour slightly on the sides. (The bubbles should get larger as the syrup thickens.) Take the pan off the heat.
3 Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites with a few drops of lemon juice in a bowl using an electric whisk, until they form soft peaks. Slowly pour the hot syrup down one side of the bowl, then whisk on full speed for 3-5 minutes until the meringue is firm, glossy and has cooled down. Set aside.
4 To construct the dessert, slice each loaf of cake horizontally into three, then cut out 12 discs using a 6-7cm pastry cutter. Place half on a baking tray. Unmould the ice-cream from a ramekin, and lay on a sponge on the baking sheet. Sandwich with another sponge and quickly cover the top and sides with meringue using a palette knife. Roughen the surface of the meringue with a fork. Repeat with the rest of the sponge, ice-cream and meringue, then put into the freezer, uncovered.
5 When ready to serve, place each Alaska on a serving plate and wave a cook’s blowtorch lightly over each meringue to colour. It should only take a few seconds. (If you do not have a blowtorch, colour the meringues under a very hot grill until the edges have browned.) Serve at once, with flaming brandy if you like.