Brownie Baked Alaska

This past week we celebrated my hubby's Birthday! Instead of a Birthday cake, Luke always requests Baked Alaska. Before meeting Luke, I had heard of Baked Alaska but I never really knew what it was. Boy, was I missing out!! This version (his favorite) has a brownie base, ice cream center, and a toasted meringue top. The key to this concoction is to seal the ice cream layer with the meringue so that when you bake it, the meringue gets toasted like a marshmallow and  the ice cream stays nice and cold. It is really not a difficult thing to make, just plan ahead so that the layers each have time to set properly. I don't think we'll wait a whole year to make this again! 

Here are a couple of pics we took after our bellies were filled with Baked Alaska!

Brownie Baked Alaska

Ingredients: 

• Brownie mix plus any ingredients needed to prepare batter
• 1/2 gallon of vanilla ice cream (preferably block, not bucket)
• 6 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 cup sugar

Directions: 

Bake brownie mix in pan as directed on package. Bake slightly less than usual. Cool. 

Cut ½ gallon of ice cream into 1"-thick layers and cover the brownie and refreeze.

To make the meringue, turn electric mixer on high speed, beat 6 egg whites (at room temp). Add ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp cream of tartar, and 1 cup sugar, gradually. Beat until stiff peaks form. To test if meringue is done, rub a little between fingers. If it feels grainy, continue beating. Spread meringue over ice cream and brownie, sealing to edges, leaving none of the ice cream exposed (*this is very important!!) and freeze 

To serve: Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Bake 4-5 min until lightly browned. Serve immediately.