Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Baked Alaska with Raspberry Coulis


I've not been doing well of late. I lost yet another baby this week in a painful and horrendous journey that started over a couple of years ago. Not many people talk about these things and women suffer in silence with little support. I am hoping this post a tiny step towards helping change that attitude. It is part of my little mission to lift the taboo on the awful subject of miscarriage. If you have suffered like me, it is worth checking out Sands. Anyway, what does all this have to do Baked Alaska?! Well, making the Baked Alaska whilst being bed-ridden with a threatened miscarriage was my way of maintaining sanity. I have a fantastic husband who meticulously followed my instructions and actually made this recipe. It also proves that it is dead simple to do, no offense to the husband.


Ingredients:
1 flan base or a thin sponge cake
500ml ice cream. Try and avoid the soft scoop versions as they melt quicker. I'd recommend something like Mackies Scottish
4 egg whites, I used Dr. Oetkers powdered egg whites to avoid any salmonella risk
250g icing sugar.
1 cup raspberry coulis

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 230 deg C. Whisk egg whites until frothy and slowly add icing sugar. Whisk with an electric blender ( although you could do it manually I suppose) until the mixture is stiff and peaky. Now layer the ice cream on top of the sponge base. Cover the ice cream with raspberry coulis and then layer the meringue mixture on top and the sides. Stick this in the oven for 5-10 mins i.e. until the top has slightly browned. Stick this in the freezer for 10 mins and serve the strawberries or raspberries.  Simple!
Lessons Learnt: Now I believe using a blow torch instead of the oven has a much better effect and would make the whole process even quicker. Also in hindsight, making individual portions with smaller sponge bases may be easier or helps you decorate the meringue in pretty patterns.

P.S. Raspberry coulis recipe to follow

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