The origins of baked Alaska are a little murky. Some say the storied combination of cake and domed ice cream, insulated in toasted meringue, was invented in France. Others, New Orleans. And a different camp claims it originated at Delmonico’s in New York City. Provenance aside, it’s almost certain that the dessert was named in celebration of the Alaska Purchase in 1867 (yes, it’s been around that long). Making the seemingly incongruous hot-and-cold dessert from scratch is an undertaking, but with this streamlined recipe, you’ll deliver on the promise of a dramatic, high-impact showstopper without ripping your hair out.
Ingredients
10–12 servings
Brittle
½
3
2
½
Curd
1½
⅔
4
⅓
2
5
Cake and Assembly
2
1½
1
½
1½
5
1
2
2
Preparation
-
Brittle
Step 1
Preheat oven to 450°. Toast ½ cup raw pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly, then coarsely chop. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
Step 2
Mix nuts, 3 Tbsp. light or dark brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. honey, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a small bowl with your hands to evenly distribute (mixture will be clumpy and sticky). Scatter over reserved baking sheet and bake until deep golden brown and bubbling, about 4 minutes. Let cool, then break brittle into small pieces.
Do ahead: Brittle can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
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Curd
Step 3
Bring 1½ lb. fresh raspberries (about 4 pints), ⅔ cup (133 g) granulated sugar, and ¼ cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan and cook, stirring and scraping down sides of pan occasionally and mashing berries, until slightly thickened, 10–12 minutes. Transfer to a blender; purée. Let cool slightly. Rinse out saucepan.
Step 4
Whisk raspberry purée, 4 large egg yolks (save the whites for making the meringue), ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice, 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar in saucepan to combine. Set over medium heat; cook, stirring and scraping sides and bottom of pan often with a heatproof rubber spatula, until slightly thickened and glossy (it shouldn’t bubble), about 5 minutes. Add 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces, a piece at a time, stirring after each addition until melted and combined before adding more. Strain curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl; discard solids. Let cool.
Do ahead: Curd can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
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Cake and Assembly
Step 5
Line a 9″–10″-diameter bowl with a 10-cup capacity (10 cups water should fill or come within 1″ of rim) with plastic wrap, leaving generous overhang on all sides. Mix 2 pints vanilla ice cream, softened in refrigerator 20 minutes, and brittle in a medium bowl to evenly distribute brittle. Scrape mixture into prepared bowl; smooth into an even layer. Pour half of cooled curd over; smooth into an even layer. Freeze until set, at least 1 hour. Cover and chill remaining curd in fridge.
Step 6
Meanwhile, preheat oven temperature to 350°. Lightly coat a 9″-diameter cake pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray, then line with a parchment paper round and lightly coat parchment with nonstick spray. Whisk 1½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar in a large bowl. Drizzle in 5 Tbsp. vegetable oil, 1 tsp. distilled white vinegar, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Drizzle in 1 cup water; whisk until batter is smooth. Scrape into prepared pan and smooth surface.
Step 7
Bake cake until golden brown at edges and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 25–30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cake cool in pan 10 minutes. Run a knife around sides to loosen; invert cake onto rack. Let cool completely.
Step 8
Scoop 2 pints pistachio ice cream, softened in refrigerator 20 minutes, on top of curd in bowl from freezer; smooth into an even layer. Pour remaining chilled curd over ice cream; smooth into an even layer. Set cake, upside down, on top and wrap plastic over cake; freeze at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
Step 9
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat 4 large egg whites in a medium bowl until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. With motor running, beat in remaining ½ cup (100 g) sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time; beat until meringue is thick and glossy, about 3 minutes. Beat in remaining 1 tsp. vanilla extract.
Step 10
Invert bowl with baked Alaska onto a heatproof platter if torching or a baking sheet if broiling; rub bowl to warm slightly to help loosen. Carefully remove bowl, tugging at plastic wrap; peel away plastic. Spoon meringue over cake and spread, swirling decoratively, to cover. Freeze at least 10 minutes if torching or at least 30 minutes if broiling and up to 1 hour.
Step 11
Toast meringue until browned with a kitchen torch or heat a broiler and bake until golden brown on top, about 3 minutes.
Do ahead: Cake can be baked 1 day ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
