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Baked Alaska

published: July 13th 2009
source: Lesa Jackson

Two one pound frozen pound cakes
Half gallon block of your favorite ice cream
Apricot jam, as needed
8 egg whites
¾ cup “instant” superfine sugar

Cut each pound cake into 3 horizontal slices; each slice should be about 9 ½ inch long, 2 ½ inches wide, and slightly thicker than ½ inch.

Set a slice of the cake on a baking dish. Cut a piece of the block of ice cream to fit on the cake base, keeping ¾ inch clear all round. Return the cake and ice cream to the freezer for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to its highest setting. Beat the egg whites until semi-stiff. Gradually add the sugar to the egg whites, a couple of tablespoons at a time, and continue to beat until the meringue is stiff and glossy.

Remove the ice cream and cake from the freezer. With a spatula, spread about half of the meringue over the pound cake, making sure to completely cover the sides and top. Transfer the remaining meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipes it over the cake, making it as decorative as you wish. Bake for 3 minutes to brown meringue, and serve the Baked Alaska immediately so the ice cream does not melt.