Rocky Road Horror Picture Show Baked Alaska Food

BAKED ALASKA

Steps:

• Line a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap.
• Place the softened ice cream into the loaf pan and spread evenly.
• Place the piece of cake on top of the ice cream, press down lightly, and place the pan in the freezer for 1 hour.
• After an hour, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 2-quart saucepan and place over high heat. Stir just until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Clip on a candy thermometer and bring the mixture to 240 degrees F.
• While the syrup is cooking, place the egg whites, salt, and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs on high speed until they reach medium peaks, 4 to 5 minutes.
• When the sugar syrup reaches 240 degrees F, remove from the heat and, with the stand mixer on low speed, slowly and carefully pour the syrup in a thin steady stream into the egg white mixture, being careful not to come in contact with the whisk. Once all the syrup has been added, increase the mixer speed to high and whisk until stiff peaks are formed and the mixture has cooled, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove the loaf pan from the freezer, turn upside down onto a heatproof serving platter, and remove the plastic wrap. Completely cover the ice cream cake combo with a 1-inch layer of meringue all around, sealing the meringue to the pan around the bottom edge.
• Use a propane torch to brown the meringue all over. Serve immediately. May be frozen once the meringue has browned.

BAKED ALASKA

Steps:

• To make the strawberry sauce, puree the strawberries and sugar in a food processor until liquefied. Lighty coat a 10 1/2 by 15 1/2-inch jelly roll pan with nonstick vegetable spray. Add the batter to the pan and bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until lightly tanned and springy. Set on a rack to cool. Cut out two circles of cake, one 5 inches in diameter; the other 4 1/4 inches in diameter. Cut out a rectangle 3 by 15 1/2 inches. Sprinkle the cake with the orange liqueur. Wrap the ice cream container in a hot towel to loosen it. Invert the container onto the larger cake circle. Top with the smaller circle. Use the cake rectangle to wrap the sides, making sure that the wet side of the cake is facing in. Fill any gap with leftover scraps. Return the cake to the freezer. Set a rack towards the bottom of the oven with plenty of room above it.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• To make the Italian Meringue, put the water, corn syrup, and sugar in a small saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Over high heat, bring the temperature to 246 degrees. In the meantime, completely clean and dry mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until creamy, foamy, and barely able to hold very soft peaks. With the mixer running on slow, carefully drizzle in the hot syrup. Continue to whisk on high, for about 2 minutes, until the consistency of shaving cream; slightly glossy and able to hold soft peaks. Set the cake on a heatproof serving platter. With a metal spatula, spread the meringue entirely around the cake. With a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, pipe any leftover meringue in a decorative pattern. Pipe one large rosette in the top and plant the eggshell in it. Dust the meringue with the confectioners' sugar. Bake for 2 to 3 minutes until lightly tanned. Pour the strawberry sauce around the bottom of the platter. In the meantime, gently warm the rum or brandy in a small saucepan. Pour it into the egg shell and drizzle the rest over the cake. Ignite!

BAKED ALASKA

Steps:

• For the parfait: Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Set aside in the refrigerator.
• Put the egg yolks, sugar, 1 tablespoon water, vanilla seeds, and vanilla extract in the top of a double boiler over medium heat. Mixing continuously, cook the ingredients until the temperature reaches 140 degrees F. Put the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on medium-high speed until it has doubled in volume and comes to room temperature. Separate the mixture into 2 bowls. In 1 bowl, mix in the coffee extract. Set aside. Fold half the heavy cream into the coffee mixture, and half into the vanilla mixture. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Fold half the egg whites into the coffee mixture, and half into the vanilla mixture.
• Lightly butter a 6-cup muffin tin; cut wax paper to fit in the bottom of each cup. Fill the cups halfway with the vanilla mixture. Tap the muffin tin lightly on the counter to make sure the cream mixture settles evenly. Fill the cups the remaining way with the coffee mixture. Place the tin in the freezer until firmly set.
• For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Put the cookie crumbs, almond flour, and egg yolks in a bowl. Mix by hand until homogenous. Place the mixture between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap. Flatten with your hand, and then roll out with a rolling pin to 1/8-inch thick. Take the top sheet of plastic wrap off and flip on to the prepared baking sheet. Remove the bottom sheet of plastic wrap. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cut into circles with a cookie cutter a little larger that the top of your muffin cup. Set aside.
• When the cookies are cool and the parfait is frozen, invert the parfaits onto the cookie bases and place back in the freezer (make sure the parfaits are centered on the cookie).
• For the meringue: Put the eggs whites and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk over a saucepan of simmering water until the sugar dissolves. Transfer the bowl to the mixer and whip on medium-high speed until you have firm glossy peaks. Place in a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch tip.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the parfaits from the freezer. Starting at the bottom of the cookie, working in circles, make meringue kisses until all of the parfait is covered. Put back in the freezer. When ready to serve, bake until golden brown. Drizzle with Rum Caramel Sauce and serve.
• Pour the cream into a 1-quart saucepan. Add the butter and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat.
• Meanwhile, in a 2-quart saucepan, add the sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Swirl and let the sugar absorb the water. Heat over medium-high heat until it caramelizes (watching carefully) to a dark amber color. Turn off heat. Carefully pour the warm cream, a little at a time, being very careful to avoid any splattering caramel. Add salt, to taste. When all the cream has been added, mix well and pour into a container. Add rum, to taste.

BAKED ALASKA

Steps:

• For the Flourless Chocolate Cake: Heat the oven at 350 degrees F. .
• Cut the chocolate into small pieces. Bring the water and 4 ounces of sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Slowly mix in pieces of the butter until fully incorporated. Set aside. In a mixer, whip the eggs and 2 ounces of sugar on high speed until light and airy but not to full volume. When the chocolate is warm fold it gently into the egg mixture. Pour batter over a half sheet pan that is lined with a silpat or with parchment paper. Bake until the cake is firm and slightly spongy in the center. Remove from oven and let cool at room temperature then transfer to the refrigerator. Cut around the edges of the cake. Carefully turn it out onto an inverted half sheet pan and peel back the silpat. With a small ring mold (roughly 2 inches in diameter) cut disks out of the cake. Return disks to the refrigerator. .
• For the Macadamia Nut Ice Cream: Toast the macadamia nuts on a sheet pan in a 300 degree F oven until deep golden brown. Grind the nuts in a food processor adding a 1/3 cup of milk to make a paste. Add the vanilla bean to the remaining milk and bring to a simmer. Add the nut paste, cover, and let steep for 1 hour. Whip the yolks and sugar until they form a ribbon when pulled with the whip. Bring the milk mixture back to simmering. Strain through cheesecloth. Squeeze the lump of ground nuts through the cheesecloth to extract as much milk as possible. Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk mixture. Slowly stir the hot milk mixture into the eggs. Cook the mixture in a bain-maire until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the cream. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, cover and cool in the refrigerator overnight. Turn the mix in an ice cream freezer. Spoon into a quart container, cover, and freeze overnight.
• For the Italian Meringue: Put the egg whites in a very clean mixer bowl with a whip attachment. Boil the light corn syrup, sugar and water in a small saucepot with a candy thermometer attached. When the mixture reaches 230 degrees F start the mixer at high speed. See that the whites do not pass medium peaks before the syrup mixture reaches 240 degrees. When the syrup reaches 240 degrees F remove it from the stove. Turn the mixer down to medium and slowly drizzle the syrup into the egg whites towards the edge of the bowl. Try to get it between the whip and the bowl to avoid splattering. When all of the syrup has been added turn the mixer back up to high speed and whip until the mixture cools. Placing a bowl of ice under the mixer bowl will speed this process up. Transfer to container and refrigerate. For this dish the meringue is best served cool but not cold. For the Amaretto Sauce: Combine the Amaretto and sugar in a saucepot and bring to a boil. Use caution, as the mixture will become very flammable when hot. Continue to boil the mixture for 10 or 15 minutes (up to 45 depending on heat of the stove) until the mixture reaches syrup consistency. It will have a very tight bubble and will be thick. Remove from heat. Add the mascarpone a spoonful at a time stirring constantly with a spoon. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or a container with a lid. Let cool to room temperature and store in the refrigerator. Bring sauce to room temperature before serving. If consistency is too thick warm the sauce slightly or cool if too thin.
• For the Chambord Sauce: Put raspberries, blackberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepot. Bring to a low boil. Cook mixture, stirring often, until it gets thick and syrup-like. The liquid portion of the mixture should coat the back of a spoon when ready. Let cool for about 5 minutes before mixing in the Chambord. Force the mixture through a fine sieve. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or small container. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. It's best served cold. If mixture is too thick add a little water or more Chambord. To assemble: Spoon some of the meringue into a large pastry bag. Place a chocolate cake disk in the center of each plate. Top with a 2-ounce scoop of ice cream. Pipe the meringue around the cake and ice cream. Pipe the meringue on the plate just touching the outer rim of the cake. Work your way up around the ice cream and then to a tip on top. Once all plates have meringue, use a blowtorch to carefully brown the meringue. Spoon or pipe the sauce onto the plate around the Baked Alaska. Serve quickly as the ice cream will be starting to melt.

BAKED ALASKA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Whip the egg yolks with 2 tablespoons sugar until creamy and yellow.
• Whip the egg whites to soft peaks and add the remaining sugar to the whites. Continue to whip the whites to stiff peaks.
• Carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk/sugar combination.
• Using the same care, fold in the sifted flour.
• Line a cookie sheet with the baker=s parchment paper, pour the cake batter, and spread the batter out to evenly coat the pan. Bake in the center of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
• Cool the cake quickly near an open window and on a rack.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Assemble the baked Alaska by cutting the sponge cake to the basic shape of the bombe mold. The largest piece will be used for lining the mold and a smaller piece will be used for the top which later will be inverted to become the bottom.
• Line the bombe mold with plastic wrap and then line the plastic with the larger piece of baked and cooled cake.
• Remove the ice cream and sorbet from the freezer and allow to soften for 10 minutes. Spoon or scoop the sorbet first into the cake lined mold and create an even layer on the bottom (later the top) of the mold.
• Cover the sorbet with the ice cream in the same fashion, smoothing out the ice cream as you go, into one even layer.
• Place the remaining layer of cake on top of the ice cream layer to act as a seal and place the whole bombe into the freezer for 4 to 5 hours. This can be done well in advance of finishing the baked Alaska.
• To finish the Alaska whip the egg whites to soft peaks, add the sugar and continue to whip to stiff but not dry peaks. Pour the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a star tube and unmold the bombe. Use hot towels to help loosen the bombe if necessary and invert the bombe onto a heat proof serving platter.
• Remove the plastic wrap and pipe a decorative design of meringue all around the base of the, now revealed, cake covered bombe. Cover the entire bombe with this meringue in as decorative a design as you can manage, being as creative as you like, but working quickly to avoid melting too much of the ice cream and sorbet. The baked Alaska is now ready for a quick visit to the very hot oven to brown the meringue but not melt the ice cream. Place the Alaska into the oven for just 5 minutes to brown the meringue to a light golden color.
• Serve immediately.