Generally it's ice cream over a sponge cake with meringue on top. I do a baked Alaska pie.....best done in a ten" deep dish pie dish. Make a one crust pie shell, place in dish. Prick shell with fork to prevent shrinkage. Bake and cool. Fill with favorite ice creams. I like to use a pint of good chocolate, a pint of strawberry and a pint of pistachio. Cover with meringue. Bake at 450 - 500 a few minutes and put in freezer till ready to use. Remove from freezer about ten minutes before serving time.

Make a one layer cake...chocolate or vanilla is good bake in a 9 inch pan.
And I find I have better luck if I can put that cake layer on a board...wood as it insulates it well...so I use a round 9 inch pan because I have a round 12 inch board.
Then I have a metal bowl that is 9 inches around at the top and I fill that with icecream, in layers because I like having 2 flavors, freeze the ice cream in the bowl and the cake.
When all are solid make a meringue with 4 egg whites, 6 tablespoons of sugar 1 tsp vanilla and a pinch of cream of tarter and a pinch of salt.
Beat the egg whites until frothy, add the salt and the cream of tartar beat until soft peaks form and slowly add the ugar, continue beating until you can no longer feel the grit of the sugar when you pinch a little between your fingers, add the vanilla.
Dip the bowl with the ice cream into hot water and place the unmolded ice cream on top of the cake, cover with meringue and place in a preheated 425 oven until nicely browned....serve immediatly.

Both recipes sound good, but one addition by way of simplification. After the IC is frozen, put it on the presentation plate, and frost with the meringue. Then put the whole thing back in the freezer. Just prior to service remove from the freezer and using a blowtorch brown the meringue. You get much more even browning than in an oven, and it will be servably soft by the time you finish browning the meringue.

I don't like it browned with a torch....to me it tastes of raw egg white...if you bake it...it cooks the meringue and it cuts better.
But it does make a beautiful presentation.

A good point, but the thought of all that ice cream melting in my oven makes me very nervous!!

Steve

It really doesn't....the wooden board insulates the bottom and the meringue insulates the top.
Use the torch for individual one serving baked alaska...because there isn't enough frozen mass to keep it from melting if you really bake it.
But it only takes about 4 minutes to brown the merinque at 425.

I bought a PB brownie mix today to use for the base. Tomorrow I will mix up the ice cream with cut-up PB Cups mixed in. (Peanut Butter is Billy's favorite) I think I will line the bowl with saran wrap to make it come out easier.

Now a problem I have spinning around in my mind is, can I prepare the whole thing before I leave home? I have a twenty minute drive to get to Billy's house, or should I wait until I am there to put it together and bake it there?

I do have a cooler I can put it in for the ride up with some ice packs. If I put the merginue on the cake & ice cream, will it hold alright while I am traveling? Oh, woe is me.

Thanks for all of your advice already. I just could not remember how to do it?

dody

Nope bake it there....and it will be better if you can pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes while you are beating up the meringue.
the success of the thing depends on having a very solidly frozen icecream mass on a frozen cake....and a quick spin in a very hot oven.

Dody - I love the "My son has sent word to me thru his wife."

Lol,
Teresa