Chocolate Lovers Baked Alaska Food

BAKED ALASKA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.
• Combine 3 tablespoons sugar and the egg yolks in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; whisk, on medium speed, until pale yellow and thick, about 15 minutes. Add vanilla, and fold in melted chocolate just to combine.
• In a medium bowl, combine egg whites and pinch of salt in bowl of electric mixer; whip, on medium speed, until frothy. Add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar; beat until stiff. Fold egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
• Carefully pour batter out into prepared cake pan. Bake until cake is set and top is dull, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on a wire rack.
• Spray a 5-cup-capacity metal bowl with cooking spray; line with plastic. Pack base of bowl with pistachio ice cream; layer cherry ice cream over pistachio, then finish with another layer of pistachio ice cream (or layer ice creams and sorbets as you desire). Pack firmly, cover surface with plastic wrap, and place in freezer. Freeze until ice cream is very hard, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours in advance.
• Place cake on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Remove ice cream from the freezer, and invert bowl over cake. Keep the ice cream covered with plastic wrap, and return ice-cream cake to the freezer.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Fill a pastry bag, fitted with an Ateco #5 star tip, with meringue; pipe onto ice cream in a decorative fashion, or spoon meringue over ice cream and swirl with a rubber spatula. If ice cream starts to soften, return cake to freezer for 15 minutes.
• Place in oven, and bake until meringue just starts to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from oven, and serve immediately.

BAKED ALASKA

Steps:

• Make the ice cream cake: Brush a 3-quart metal bowl with vegetable oil; line with plastic wrap. Fill the bowl with scoops of the sorbet, vanilla ice cream and half of the chocolate ice cream, alternating small and large scoops to create a mosaic of colors and shapes. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the ice cream; press down to close the gaps between scoops and even out the surface. Remove the plastic wrap, sprinkle the ice cream with the wafer crumbs and re-cover with the plastic wrap, pressing gently. Freeze until set, about 30 minutes.
• Remove the wrap and spread the remaining chocolate ice cream in an even layer on top of the crumbs. Cut the pound cake into 1/2-inch-thick slices; completely cover the ice cream with the slices, trimming as needed (you'll use about two-thirds of the cake). Cover with fresh plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
• Make the meringue: Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until foamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the sugar on high speed until the whites are glossy and hold stiff peaks.
• Remove the top layer of plastic wrap, then invert the cake onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. (If necessary, let the cake stand overturned until it slips out.) Remove the rest of the plastic wrap and cover the ice cream completely with the meringue, making the dome-shaped top slightly thicker than the sides. Form swirly peaks in the meringue using the back of a spoon. Freeze for at least 3 more hours.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Bake the cake until the meringue peaks are golden, about 4 minutes, or brown the meringue with a blowtorch. Let the cake soften at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Freeze any leftovers.

CHOCOLATE BAKED ALASKA

Steps:

• For the ice cream: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush 1 baking sheet with almond oil; set aside. Place the almonds on another baking sheet and toast them until light golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/2 cup water and cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until a medium amber color. Remove the caramel from the heat, immediately add the almonds and stir quickly to thoroughly combine. Turn out onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading quickly to an even thickness. Allow the brittle to cool completely. Coarsely chop and reserve. Heat the milk, cream and 1/2 cup sugar in a medium saucepan until the sugar dissolves and the milk starts to simmer. Add the cocoa powder and chocolate and whisk until smooth. Place the egg yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed until pale yellow and ribbons form, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the stand and slowly whisk in the hot chocolate mixture. Pour the egg and chocolate mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thickened and the mixture coats the back of the spoon. Do not allow the mixture to boil! Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strain into a bowl set over an ice bath and stir in the coffee liqueur, vanilla and salt. Stir until the mixture is cold. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard and chill completely in the refrigerator, at least 4 and up to 24 hours. Pour the chilled custard into the bowl of an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. Stir in the coarsely chopped almond brittle. Spray a 2 quart glass bowl with cooking spray, line with plastic wrap and spray the plastic wrap. Scrape the ice cream into the bowl and smooth the top. The ice cream will not fill the bowl; you're looking for the larger surface of the ice cream to be about 8 inches in diameter. Press more plastic wrap over the top and freeze until solid, at least 4 hours. For the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter 1 (9-inch cake) pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Add the coffee, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla extract and continue whisking until smooth. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake on the middle rack until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the pans on a baking rack for 20 minutes. For the meringue: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Fill a medium saucepan 1/4 full with water. Set the saucepan over medium heat and bring the water to a simmer. Combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer and place over the saucepan. Whisk constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the whites are warm to the touch, about 3 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high speed, whip until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and the chocolate and mix until combined. Immediately fill a pastry bag, fitted with a #5 star tip, with the meringue.
• To assemble: Unmold the ice cream onto the cake and pipe the meringue onto the ice cream in a decorative fashion (or spoon the meringue over the ice cream and swirl with a rubber spatula). If the ice cream starts to soften, return the cake to the freezer for 15 minutes. Place in the oven and bake until the meringue just starts to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE AND NEAPOLITAN BAKED ALASKA

Steps:

• Line an (8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2-inch) metal loaf pan with 2 layers of plastic wrap, allowing 3 inches of plastic to hang over pan sides. Cut ice cream block in half crosswise, and then press the layer of pound cake slices into the bottom of the pan. Add half of ice cream and then add the remaining cake to sandwich the ice cream. Fold plastic overhang atop cake to cover. Freeze for 4 hours, or until frozen solid.
• Wrap hot damp towels around pan sides to loosen cake and ice cream from pan. Fold back plastic from atop cake. Invert a baking dish or large flame-proof plate atop cake. Holding baking dish and pan together, invert cake into dish. Remove pan; keep cake covered with plastic wrap. Freeze while preparing meringue.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Beat egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer until frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Remove plastic from cake. Spread meringue over cake, covering cake and ice cream and completely sealing meringue to dish. Bake until meringue is lightly brown and just set, about 3 minutes. Cut into slices and serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE ORANGE BOMBE ALASKA WITH HOT CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• First make the cake: heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Lightly butter a Swiss roll tin and line the base with non-stick baking parchment. Put the whole eggs, egg yolks and caster sugar in a bowl and whisk with an electric hand whisk for 8-10 mins until light and fluffy. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of almost simmering water, stirring occasionally.
• When the whisked egg mixture is light and fluffy, gently fold in the flour with a large metal spoon or the whisk blades, taking care not to lose too much volume. Beat a small amount of the egg mixture into the melted chocolate, then gently fold the chocolate into the remaining egg mixture. Pour into the prepared tin, then tilt the tin from side to side until even and the corners are filled. Bake for 10 mins until firm, then leave to cool completely.
• Line a 1-litre freezer-proof pudding basin with cling film. Cut a small circle of sponge cake to fit the base then cut triangular pieces to line the sides. Fill any gaps with trimmings and save the remaining sponge for later. Place the bowl in the freezer to firm up the sponge.
• Make the ice cream: slice the vanilla pod in half lengthways and remove the seeds. Put the milk, vanilla seeds and pod, orange zest, caster sugar and cream into a medium pan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks together in a large bowl. Pour the hot cream mixture slowly on to the eggs, whisking all the time. Return the mix to a clean pan and stir constantly over a gentle heat for about 5 mins until the mixture has just thickened. Pass through a sieve and leave to cool for 30 mins. Churn in an ice-cream machine (or make by hand, see 'Try' below). Add the marmalade and continue to churn for another 10 mins until thick.
• Scoop the ice cream into the cake-lined bowl, leaving a central indent for the sorbet layer. Sit a small bowl in the top of the ice cream to make a smooth indent for the sorbet later to sit in. Freeze for at least 1 hr, until just firm.
• Fill the centre of the bombe with orange sorbet, cover the entire base of the bowl with a layer of sponge, cover with cling film and return to the freezer until needed, or at least 8 hrs ahead. This can be done well in advance and that's all the really hard work done.
• To make the hot chocolate sauce, grate the chocolate into a bowl and add the golden syrup, butter and warm water. Melt over a pan of just simmering water until melted, stirring occasionally.
• About 20 mins before serving, heat oven to 230C/fan 210C/gas 8. Whisk the egg whites and a pinch of salt in a large clean bowl until stiff but not dry. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, bringing it back to stiff peaks before each addition. Turn the bombe out onto an ovenproof serving dish and remove the cling film. Spoon the meringue all over the bombe to completely seal it. Using the back of the spoon or a palette knife, pull the meringue into dramatic swirls. Bake for 10-15 mins or until golden. Reheat the chocolate sauce over a pan as before or in a microwaveable bowl for 1 min on Low, stirring halfway through. Take the Chocolate orange bombe Alaska to the table immediately and serve sliced, drizzled with the hot chocolate sauce.

FESTIVE BAKED ALASKA

Steps:

• Line a 900ml pudding basin or deep cereal bowl with a double layer of cling film. Scoop the caramel ice cream into the bowl, patting it down well. Top with the conserve, followed by the vanilla ice cream. Pat down firmly, cover with cling film and freeze for at least 2 hrs or, better still, overnight.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Whisk egg whites until stiff, then slowly whisk in the sugar until firm and glossy. Slice the cake and arrange on a baking parchmentlined baking sheet, to make a round the same size as the top of the ice-cream bowl. Press together well to make sure there aren't any gaps.
• Lift ice cream out of bowl, remove cling film and turn onto the cake. Spread the meringue evenly over the ice cream and cake, making sure there are no gaps. Bake for 4-5 mins until nicely coloured. Serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE BAKED ALASKA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350F degrees degrees.
• Mix flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt with fork in ungreased square pan.
• 8 x 8 x 2 inches.
• Mix in remaining ingredients except chocolate chips.
• Sprinkle chocolate chips over batter.
• Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
• Cake can be mixed in bowl if desired.
• Cut ice cream lengthwise into halves.
• Place one half on plate.
• Freeze.
• Return remaining ice cream to freezer for another use.
• Prepare cake as directed except.
• Mix in bowl and grease and flour pan.
• Bake as directed.
• Cool.
• Cover cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
• Place cake on cookie sheet.
• Place ice cream on cake 1 inch from one side.
• Trim the other side of cake around ice cream, leaving a 1 inch edge.
• Freeze cake and ice cream.
• Heat oven to 500 degrees.
• Beat egg white and cream of tartar until foamy.
• Beat in brown sugar, 1 tablespoons at a time.
• Continue beating until stiff and glossy.
• Working quickly, completely cover cake and ice cream with meringue, sealing it to foil on cookie sheet.
• Bake on lowest oven rack until meringue is light brown, 3-5 minutes.
• Trim foil to edge of meringue, transfer cake to serving plate.
• Cut into 6 slices.
• Cut each slice into halves.
• Serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE LOVERS' FAVORITE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10 inch Bundt pan.
• In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in sour cream, melted butter, eggs and almond extract. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Blend in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.