Friday 27 August 2010

Baked Alaska Augus 2010 Daring Bakers Challenge


Begning of this Month when I read what the challenge was for this month I was really excited as I have never made baked Alaska.
But then days passed by and then we had few parties at home and was always busy etc....that I almost went to the forumn to tell them that I am not joining this month.
But then the last minute I changed, and boy am I so glad I did it.
As when I served this for hubby and daughter this yesterday, they were full of praise, hubby even told for the next party I should make this for dessert.
Ofcourse having a blow Torch is really handy to make this dessert.

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted byElissa of 17 and Baking . For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz " The Perfect Scoop "

Vanilla Ice Cream
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup (165g) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise OR
2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract
2 cups (500ml) heavy (approx 35% butterfat) cream
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean with a paring knife and add to the milk, along with the bean pod. Cover, remove from heat, and let infuse for an hour. (If you do not have a vanilla bean, simply heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams, then let cool to room temperature.)
2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2 litre) bowl inside a large bowl partially filled with water and ice. Put a strainer on top of the smaller bowl and pour in the cream.
3. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks together. Reheat the milk in the medium saucepan until warmed, and then gradually pour ¼ cup warmed milk into the yolks, constantly whisking to keep the eggs from scrambling. Once the yolks are warmed, scrape the yolk and milk mixture back into the saucepan of warmed milk and cook over low heat. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom with a spatula until the mixture thickens into a custard which thinly coats the back of the spatula.
4. Strain the custard into the heavy cream and stir the mixture until cooled. Add the vanilla extract (1 teaspoon [5ml] if you are using a vanilla bean; 3 teaspoons [15ml] if you are not using a vanilla bean) and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.
5. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze in an ice cream maker. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can make it without a machine. See instructions from David Lebovitz:

Brown Butter Pound Cake
19 tablespoons (9.5 oz) (275g) unsalted (sweet) butter
2 cups (200g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) (See “Note” section for cake flour substitution)
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
1/3 (75g) cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C and put a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan.
2. Place the butter in a 10” (25cm) skillet over medium heat. Brown the butter until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. (Don’t take your eyes off the butter in case it burns.) Pour into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.
3. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Beat the brown butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and then the vanilla extract.
5. Stir in the flour mixture at low speed until just combined.
6. Scrape the batter into the greased and floured 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and rap the pan on the counter. Bake until golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
7. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and invert right-side-up onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Meringue (For the Baked Alaska)
8 large egg whites
½ teaspoon (3g) cream of tartar
½ teaspoon (3g) salt
1 cup (220g) sugar
Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on high speed in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar gradually in a slow stream until stiff peaks form.

Assembly Instructions – Baked Alaska
1. Line four 4” (10cm) diameter tea cups with plastic wrap, so that plastic wrap covers all the sides and hangs over the edge. Fill to the top with ice cream. Cover the top with the overhanging plastic wrap and freeze for several hours, or until solid

2. Level the top of the brown butter pound cake with a serrated knife or with a cake leveler. Cut out four 4” (10cm) diameter circles from the cake. Discard the scraps or use for another purpose.
3. Make the meringue (see above.)
4. Unwrap the ice cream “cups” and invert on top of a cake round. Trim any extra cake if necessary.
5. Pipe the meringue over the ice cream and cake, or smooth it over with a spatula, so that none of the ice cream or cake is exposed. Freeze for one hour or up to a day.
6. Burn the tips of the meringue with a cooking blow torch. Or, bake the meringue-topped Baked Alaskas on a rimmed baking sheet in a 500°F/260°C oven for 5 minutes until lightly golden. Serve immediately.

41 comments:

Raks said...

Yum,hope you enjoyed that!

Angie's Recipes said...

I have never baked this one either...looks so beautiful!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Looks really very pretty. I think you're right, a blow torch makes all the difference here.

I got out of making that part of the challenge! LOL

Sharmi said...

waaaaawww.... look at that pic! awesome:)

jayasree said...

Looks very pretty. Just reading thro the recipe, I feel exhausted and I can imagine the amount of work that went behind it.

veena said...

looks very pretty!!!!

Jamie said...

Finla, too cute!!! Unfortunately I can't see the first picture, but the second is just adorable! I'm glad your family liked them.

Sanjeeta kk said...

Pretty presentation Finla. Love those small pearls in the picture.

Bong Mom said...

Never even heard of it..must be good if your hubby says so :-) At least no more macaroons for him ;-)

Nic said...

Those look beautiful, I do love baked Alaska!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Those Baked Alaska look delicious! very well done!

Cheers,

Rosa

Cakelaw said...

These are so cute HC - and glad your hubby and daughter loved them. Glad you could join us!!

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Wow looks super good finla..u know i too finished in hurry, even i too thought to skip this time cos of some commitment, and last minute some how managed to do it. Worth the effort and tasted yummy too right??? dear.

Kalyani said...

Nice picure ... and looks delicious .....

Deeba PAB said...

Ooooooh Finla, these are gorgeous! How beautiful! I have a blow torch on my list, and am totally inspired by yours! Baked Alaska = YUM YUM, and browned butter makes it better!

Pavani said...

looks cute n yummy n tempting ones..

Ria Mathew said...

That was a beautiful take on the challenge! Well done!

Priya Suresh said...

Cute and pretty looking baked alaska..yummy.

Vanamala Hebbar said...

I like ur photography....and recipe

Elissa said...

I love how tiny yours are - so beautiful and cute! I'm glad you were able to do this month's challenge (it was the first time I ever used my blow torch, too!)

Dewi said...

Looks very pretty, I never made this, sure it's challenging. Well done HC.

Gloria Baker said...

I never made this Happy Cook, but yours look really lovely is a wonderful dessert! x gloria

sadaf said...

congrats for doing very well. looks fabulous!!

aipi said...

Simply beautiful!!

http://usmasala.blogspot.com/

chakhlere said...

Looks unbelievable....yummm!!!pls send it here :)

Unknown said...

looks so tempting....grt job..

Asha @ FSK said...

Ah! your alaska looks perfect!! :)) so unlike mine.. haha!

Renata said...

Like you, I enjoyed every step of this challenge. I even bought a torch specially for this occasion. Your Alaska is adorable and I love your decoration with the blueberries! Great job!

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

looks yum...
lovely click!

Akanksha said...

looks perfect..

Alice said...

Your baked Alaska looks absolutely delicious. I chose to make the ice cream Petit fours but after seeing so many baked alaskas work well I thunk I will have to make some of my own! Can't wait for next months challenge!

Poonam said...

motivational bake! perfect!

Urmi said...

I liked your blog very much. I appreciate for your wonderful presentation. Looks delicious and tempting.
You are welcome in my blogs.

Aps Kitchen said...

Wish i cud have them....;)
they luk so pretty

aipi said...

That looks spectacular !!

http://usmasala.blogspot.com/

The Betz Family said...

Looks great! Nice job on the challenge!

indosungod said...

No way HC. That looks so fantastic and I bet tastes absolutely delicious.

Miri said...

This looks so fragile and delicate Happy Cook!!! Like a powder puff! :)

Bombay-Bruxelles said...

Wow! I MUST take up daring bakers again! I was very proud of the baked alaska that I made in India that stayed put in spite of the Bombay heat! Not tried it since!

lissie said...

baked Alaska looks so good...it is worth the effort!

silverrock said...

Thanks for the nice comments on my DB challenge creation... I love the look of yours! So cute, and so yummy looking.