Ginger and Pineapple Baked Alaska
WITH the lovely Mary Berry back on our screens, l thought l would share this challenging but fun, extremely impressive 1970s dessert with the ‘wow’ factor!
Imagine… crispy, hot meringue covering a frozen ice cream cake – surprisingly it’s incredibly quick and simple to produce and this pudding looks and tastes really amazing, making it the perfect ‘retro’ dessert for entertaining!
Ingredients:
6 egg whites 150g caster sugar 25g desiccated coconut 240g ginger (or chocolate) cake 6 pineapple rings drained 25g demerara sugar 300g rectangle block of vanilla ice cream (not soft scoop)
Fruit for decoration (ie strawberries, figs, cherries etc)
You will need a 10” oblong pyrex dish.
Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Sprinkle the demerara over the pineapple and grill to soften, then cool.
Meanwhile whisk the egg whites in a grease-proof bowl, gradually add the caster sugar until the mixture is stiff and glossy, fold the coconut into the meringue.
Arrange three of the cooled down pineapple rings in the centre of your pyrex.
Slice the ice cream in half horizontally and arrange one half on top of the rings.
Cut the cake into two thick rectangular layers and place half on top of the ice cream.
Repeat this layering process by topping the cake with the remaining pineapple, next ice cream then ginger cake.
Spread the coconut meringue over the top of your cake - carefully sealing it all around to ensure thorough coverage - none of the ice cream must be exposed to avoid any melting.
Bake your ‘cake’ in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes or until golden on top. Serve quickly and enjoy! Lesley and her husband Roberto own Roberto’s Italian Diner on Ocean Plaza. For more of Lesley’s recipes, pop by and say hello or go to www.ritaliandiner.co.uk