Baked Alaska

A clever combination of hot and cold--toasted meringue encircling frozen ice cream--Baked Alaska has been a classic restaurant dessert since it was first invented in 1869 to celebrate the purchase of Alaska. Here's how we re-created this restaurant favorite for the home kitchen.

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Buying prebaked frozen pound cake and softening high-quality ice cream makes this recipe especially easy.
• Lining the bowl with plastic wrap helps with unmolding the cake for serving.
• Inverting the cake on an ovenproof platter lets you brown the meringue and serve immediately--no need to replate for serving.
• Using an Italian meringue (adding a sugar syrup rather than just sugar to the egg whites) gives the meringue the stability needed to hold its shape and texture during baking.