Baked Alaska

Sometime last week, one of my co-workers frantically left me a voice message to call her back because it was something really important. And after playing a bit of phone-tag, we finally got a hold of each other and she told me that she wanted to ask for a favor from me. Turns out, that she wanted me to make a dish for her. Her daughter's school was having a fair last week and she was given a recipe to make to bring for the fair. I found it kind of odd that she, a mother of three who knows how to cook, asks me to cook the dish for her. Well, you see, she's a very strict vegetarian and doesn't keep (and is not even allowed to bring) eggs in the house. And because of her culture, she isn't allowed to bring alcohol into the house either. These two ingredients were crucial to the recipe. And because she was a good friend of mine, I told her I'd look at the recipe and let her know if I can do it. So she faxed me the recipe and it turns out that the recipe is for a Baked Alaska. I called her back to let her know that I'd be happy to do it for her. Especially because I have been dying to make Baked Alaska after seeing it on a few cooking shows. So she brought me all the ingredients for the recipe and I went to work.



The recipe was quite easy and looked so yummy. For obvious reasons, I didn't get a chance to taste the dish. But I decided to make it again this past weekend for our Memorial Day BBQ because I had a little bit of the ingredients left. So I made a smaller version of the dessert and I'm so glad I did. It was a yummy, cool and creamy dessert with a delicious crust. I'm glad my co-worker gave me the recipe to make for her. Unfortunately, I don't know the source of the recipe. The recipe called for coffee liqueur, but I didn't have any, so I omitted it. And it still tasted super yummy. Thanks for the recipe Jatinder! I hope your daughter and her teachers enjoyed it as much as I did making it for you :)

3/4 cup vanilla wafer crumbs

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

1/2 gallon coffee ice cream, softened

6 (1 1/16 oz) English toffe-flavored candy bars, crushed

1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow creme

1 Tbsp. coffee flavored liqueur (optional)

3 egg whites

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Combine vanilla wafer crumbs, graham cracker crumbs, pecans, cocoa and melted butter in a medium bowl. Mix until well combined. Press mixture evenly on the bottom of a 9-inch baking pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool completely.

2) In a large bowl, combine softened ice cream and crushed candy bars. Spoon over cooled crust. Cover and freeze overnight.

3) Whip marshmallow cream. Whisk in liqueur if using. Using a stand mixer, beat white eggs on medium-high until foamy. Gradually add marshmallow mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over the frozen ice cream mixture, making sure edges are sealed. When ready to serve, preheat oven to 475 deg F. Bake for 3 minutes or until lightly browned on top.