Baked Alaska always reminds me of forgettable hotel or catered desserts. You know the type I’m thinking of…I’ve only ever had the sort that includes freezer burned ice cream and too-foamy meringue.
I have long loved the idea of a Baked Alaska, and I loved it even more when I learned people in the world often call it Bombe Alaska. So fancy! I just love the way “bombe” feels and sounds. In an effort to make this dessert everything I have dreamed it would be, I wanted there to be a jewel-toned surprise. So, I went with a vanilla custard ice cream with a sweet, jammy, white balsamic + strawberry ripple, on top of a olive oil + pistachio sponge cake. I covered the whole thing in glossy swiss meringue with lots of swirls to ensure a pretty toast.
I made the cake and the ripple using Colavita Olive Oil and Chardonnay Balsamic. The olive oil lends it’s fruity nature to the cake and keeps it more tender while frozen than butter would. Balsamic is a natural pair with strawberries and I like the white variety because it doesn’t muddy the vibrant color of the berries like a traditional balsamic might. Plus it lends a sweet tang that is so irresistible. Seriously, I had a spoonful (or 4) of the ripple straight from the pan.
Since I liked these products so much and because you are all da bombe (had to!), in association with Colavita and Fine Cooking*, we are doing a giveaway of some of Colavita’s Olive Oil and Balsamic as well as a 1-year subscription to Fine Cooking Magazine. Enter below! Leave a comment telling me what your favorite ice cream flavor is.**
*Just a note, this is a sponsored giveaway. However, I was not paid for this post, all opinions expressed are my own.
**This giveaway is only open to US residents with non-PO box addresses. Apologies to international and PO box holding readers! You can enter my favorites giveaway here, however. Cheers!
Strawberry Ripple Bombe Alaska
This makes 5, 3 1/2 inch bombe’s. Use the cake scraps and leftover syrup to make a parfait! There may seem to be more sugar than needed for the strawberry ripple, but it encourages jamminess and keeps the ripple from becoming icy when frozen.
Pistachio Cake (adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams):
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cake flour
1/4 cup coarsely ground pistachios
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line or grease the bottom of an 8×8 baking pan–do not grease the sides. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and vanilla. Set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer, combine the sugar, eggs, yolks, and salt. Using the whisk attatchement beat the mixture for about 8 minutes until trippled in volume and pale in color. Fold in the flour and pistachios. Fold in the olive oil and vanilla. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 20 minutes until the top is golden brown and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.
Using a 3 1/2 inch round cutter, cut out 5 circles from the cake. Place the scrapes in a bag and freeze for parfait making. Place the cake circles on a parchment lined tray in the freezer. Freeze until ready to assemble the bombes.
Strawberry Ripple Ice Cream:
1 lb. strawberries, hulled and stemmed
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
3 teaspoons cornstarch
3 egg yolks
2/3 sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Chop the strawberries and add to a saucepan with the 1 cup of sugar, honey, and lemon. Cook until the mixture begins to boil, turn down the heat slightly to achieve a low, steady boil and continue to cook, stirring so the bottom of the pan does not burn, until the mixture becomes thick and syrupy and coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the white balsamic. Press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve and set aside to cool completely Can be made a day or two in advance, store in a jar in the refrigerator.
Whisk 1/4 cup of the milk with the cornstarch and set the slurry aside.
In a bowl whisk the egg yolks with the 2/3 cup of sugar and vanilla until combined and just beginning to turn pale yellow. Set aside.
In a saucepan heat the cream and remaining milk until just before it comes to a boil. Whisk about 1/2 of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, 1 ladle full at a time, to temper. Add the tempered egg mixture to the saucepan of remaining hot cream. Whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Over medium low heat, cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pour into a gallon, zip top, freezer bag and place in an ice bath to cool completely. Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Scrape about 1/3 of the ice cream into an 8×8 baking pan, layer in liberal drizzles of the strawberry ripple, and repeat. Freeze, covered, until solid at least 6 hours. Cut out 5 rounds using the same cutter you used for the cake rounds (3 1/2 inches). Place the ice cream rounds on top of the cake rounds and return to the freezer while you make the meringue.
Swiss Meringue
3 egg white
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
In a heat proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, whisk the egg whites with the sugar and salt to combine. Continue to whisk until the egg white mixture is warm, not too hot, and the sugar is dissolved. You can test this by dipping a finger into the warm egg white and rubbing it–if there are no longer any sugar granules, it is done. Using a stand (whisk attachment) or hand mixer, whip the egg whites until they become voluminous bright white, glossy, and hold a medium-stiff peak. Ice the bombes with the swiss meringue. Toast just before serving.
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Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
Daaang this looks awesome!
cindy
Thanks, Katrina!
Elizabeth
My favorite would have to be peanut butter revel or chocolate chip cookie dough.. i think.. its hard to choose just one!!!
Elizabeth
these are absolutely breathtaking by the way!! my mouth is watering 🙂
Erika
Bombetastic!!! This is freakin genius and oh so purty!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)
Wow, these are seriously sooo gorgeous! In love!
Billy
Daaaang Gurl! This bombe is da bomb!!
Becky @ A Calculated Whisk
Mint chocolate chip!
Jessica M
These look amazing! My favorite flavor is definitely mint brownie! mmmmm
Tieghan
LOVE! You are adding fuel to my ice cream fire!! All I want to make and all I want to eat is ice cream. Trust me, this is next!
Tracy | Peanut Butter and Onion
What the heck is going on here. Is this even real
Anna Nicole Lee
Salted caramel is my favorite ice cream. Yum-o!
Linda K.
I’ll basically take any ice cream… LOL…
Laura
Holy yum! My fave flavor is a toss up between mint choc chip and Phish Food. Depends on what kinda mood I’m in.
Laura Dembowski
Baked Alaska is so awesome and much easier to make than people think. The flavors in this sound out of this world! It is the perfect treat for summer.
Jen P
I do not discriminate with ice cream! I really love coffee the most though.
Kate
There is a place close to my home that makes tiramisu custard – coffee custard with lady finger bits, chocolate/coffee swirl and a dusting of cocoa powder. It’s my weakness!
Briana S.
Rocky Road and Black Sesame are my favorite ice cream flavors!
anastassia
i love mint anything icecream.
stephanie
Tin can roof! SO delicious. 🙂
Madeline
I love Jeni’s Salted Caramel Ice Cream!
jacquie
no overall favorite as it changes with the season/availability peach in summer, pumpkin in fall and peppermint stick in winter
Jade Sheldon-Burnsed
OH my, this looks absolutely incredible! I ADORE ice cream so it’s hard to pic an absolute favorite… but my favorite of the moment is Salt & Straw’s Sea Salt Ice Cream with Caramel Ribbon. SO GOOD.
Karen - Cinnamon Freud
My favorite ice cream treat is vanilla soft serve (or anything soft serve), but I love banana ice cream too!
Darcie
My favorites are either just a simple, creamy vanilla bean ice cream. Or chocolate. I’m pretty boring when it comes to ice cream. I also love this apricot mango sorbet I had in Philadelphia a few summers ago, but I dunno if that counts. 🙂
Alanna
What?! These look insanely amazing! I recently had an epic fail trying make a rippled ice cream like this – so happy I can now use this recipe! The white balsamic is pure genius; I can’t even imagine how good it is with the pistachio cake. Yum!!! Nearly impossible to pick a favorite ice cream, but for the sake of the giveaway I’ll say it’s Maple Bourbon with Salty Candied Pecans (that I made last fall). 🙂
Jane
My favorite ice cream is usually peanut butter, especially if it has chocolate swirls or cups in it! Yum
Katie @ Blonde Ambition
I love anything that is chocolatey in nature, or has chocolate add ins! Jamocha fudge? Moose tracks? Yes please!
Caitlin
My all-time favorite is Butter Crunch from Friendly’s (east coast chain from my youth). I live in CA now and there are no Friendly’s here, and I don’t even know if the flavor still exists 🙁
Kim C.
My favorite ice cream flavor is Butter Pecan. I love the combination of the salty pecans and the sweet ice cream.
Isabel T
I know it’s boring… but vanilla is my favorite!
Brittany
Lady, these are just the cutest!!
My favorite ice cream… it feels nearly impossible to pick one, but the Salted Caramel from Bi-Rite just gets me every time. It’s too good!
Karleen
Pistachio! This dessert is just gorgeous!
Angela
Brownie batter. Mexican hot chocolate. Coffee. Toffee. Do I have to pick just one??
gina guthrie
Mint chocolate chip.
Christine
shut the front door with this.. it’s amazing and i’m doing it.
cindy
YES! thanks!
My Italian-American Kitchen
This look awesome! I love it