Mini Baked Alaskas

Happy Birthday America! Upon my return to New York, I immediately wanted to celebrate the 4th of July with a truly "American" dessert. Without much thought, the nostalgic and festive baked Alaska comes to mind. I knew this dessert was old school, but did you know the baked Alaska actually dates back to 1876! I say we all pay homage to our country's greatness and create these mini baked Alaskas for the 4th. They're much easier to make than they appear, and I guarantee you'll have fun creating them (not just eating them). Just don't let these sit out in this crazy heat, or you'll be left with a melted blob of red, white and blue.

Mini Baked Alaskas with Sugar Stars

makes 4 

INGREDIENTS

1 pound cake loaf

1 pint red ice cream or sorbet, such as Raspberry or Strawberry

1 pint Vanilla ice cream or sorbet

1 pint Blueberry ice cream or sorbet

6 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Line a large muffin tin with large muffin tin liners. (You can use plastic wrap if you don't have any liners.) Remove the ice cream/sorbet from the freezer to soften while you assemble the cakes. Slice the pound cake in half lengthwise, and use a 3" round cookie cutter to cut cake rounds. Cake rounds should be about 3/4" thick. Place in the bottom of the lined muffin tin. Scoop the ice cream right on top of the cake rounds, alternating flavors to make "red, white and blue". Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer overnight, or at least 2 hours. 

2. In a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the six egg whites on high speed until foamy. Add in the cream of tartar and beat on high until egg whites start to multiply in size. Keeping the mixer running, slowly pour in the sugar. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Place meringue into a piping bag or zip lock bag with the tip cut off. 

3. Remove ice cream cakes from the freezer and peel off the muffin liner. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Working quickly, pipe the meringue all around each ice cream cake so no ice cream is showing, creating a peak at the top. If you aren't ready to serve the baked Alaska's, place them in the freezer until it's time to serve.

4. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Bake the cakes until the meringue peaks are golden, about 4 minutes. Serve immediately and freeze any leftovers.

Sugar Stars

Create these before you make the Alaskas, so they're ready when you take cakes out of the oven. Place 1-2 cups Isomalt in a saucepan and melt completely. (Isomalt is a sugar substitute that melts completely clear and is very easy to work with! You can get it at most cake and confection supply stores.) Add a few drops of red or blue food coloring. Allow to cool slightly while you line a baking sheet with a baking liner or parchment paper. Carefully dip a spoon into the melted sugar, then "drip" a star pattern on the baking sheet. Cool, then set aside.

Deceiving Deviled Meringues

I probably should have saved this post for April fools day, but I was so excited I just couldn't wait to share it with you! I spend about 90% of my life joking around, so every now and then my desserts have a sense of humor too. These deviled eggs are adorable and taste nothing like real deviled eggs (which I absolutely LOVE, by the way). A light and crispy meringue cookie served as the perfect egg white, while a smooth lemon mousse passes as the deviled egg mixture. The garnish is the real kicker here, with sugar "paprika" and mint instead of chives. Are you as excited as I am about these?! Can you guys think of any other foods I could fake as desserts? If so, send 'em my way.

First, you need to make a lemon curd and fresh whipped cream. Then, you'll turn that into the lemon mousse.

Lemon Mousse 

INGREDIENTS

3 large egg yolks
Zest of one lemon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Yellow food coloring

DIRECTIONS 
1. Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, or about 5 minutes. 
  

2. Remove saucepan from heat and strain into a bowl. (Straining the curd is a must! It removes any lumps.) Stir in butter, one piece at a time. Continue stirring until curd is smooth.  Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

3. Prepare whipped cream by placing the heavy cream the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed for about 2 minutes, or until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix on high until very stiff peaks form. 

 
4. Remove lemon curd from refrigerator. Carefully fold the curd into the whipped cream, making sure not to over mix. Mix in the yellow food coloring, a few drops at time, until you have the desired "egg yolk" color. Cover mixing bowl and refrigerate until mousse is very cold, at least an hour. 

While the mousse chills, make the meringue cookies...

Meringue Cookies

INGREDIENTS

3 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS 

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

2. Place egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until white and foamy. Slowly pour the sugar into the bowl, mixing on high speed, until stiff peaks form. Mix in salt and vanilla extract. 

3. Transfer meringue into a piping bag or a large zip-lock bag. Snip off the tip of the bag so opening is about 3/4” wide. Keeping your hand stationary, pipe meringue onto parchment, creating an egg shape about 2 1/2" long. Repeat until all the meringue has been piped out.
Bake meringues for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Watch them to make sure they don’t brown. Cool completely before flipping over.

 

Now, let's make some "deviled eggs!" They really come to life with the help of red decorating sugar and mint as a garnish. I decided to candy the mint, but you can use fresh mint instead. 

Assemble the “Deviled Eggs” 

Make sure to assemble these right before serving, as the mousse can’t sit out for long. 

1. Flip each meringue cookie over so the flat side faces up. Transfer the lemon mousse into a piping bag or a large zip-lock bag fitted with a star decorating tip. (If you don’t have a tip, just snip the tip of the bag to make a 1/2” opening.) Pipe mousse on each meringue cookie to give the illusion of an egg filling.

2. Sprinkle with red decorating sugar and mint.

Candied Mint

You'll need a few freshly washed mint leaves, one egg white, superfine sugar, paper towel and parchment paper. Dip mint leaf in egg white and blot lightly on paper towel to remove excess liquid. Dredge mint though superfine sugar and place on parchment paper to dry for about 2 hours. (Candied mint can be made the day before and stored in an airtight container.)