Individual Baked Alaska's (Gluten-Free & Dairy Free)

If you have been following this blog for a while you know that I LOVE to use my kitchen torch. I have found ways to use it on brownies, for breakfast, and now on cupcakes, hooray! I love watching my kid's faces light up when the torch does its magic and there is just something about the toasty flavor it imparts that makes my taste buds really sing.

For years I have seen pictures of Baked Alaska's in magazines and they are really beautiful, but for some reason they intimidated me, so I never attempted to make one before. Let me tell you, now that I have made one, or 6 miniature ones to be exact, I can safely say that if you can layer a lasagna you can make this decadent dessert. These little beauties taste amazing, and are easily swapped up to please anyone's flavor palette! Like vanilla cake and strawberry ice cream? Go ahead, give it a whirl, there are no wrong flavor combos here. I have told you before that I am not a cake decorator but I can slap on a little meringue and make myself look like a seasoned decorator with these fancy little singed peaks. Perfectly imperfect...I love that! Go ahead, make a batch the next time your friends or family come to dinner, they will be so impressed, no need to fess up to how easy they are.

Individual Baked Alaska's
Makes 6 individual servings with about 12 cupcakes left over for snacking later
1 box Better Batter Chocolate Cake Mix, prepared as cupcakes (You can use any G-free cake mix here but Better Batter is my favorite!)
1 pint So Delicious ice cream, slightly softened (any flavor will work)

Meringue
6 large egg whites
9 tablespoons sugar
¼ tsp, cream of tartar
Dash of salt

Prepare cupcakes according to directions on the box and allow to cool completely. Once cooled, remove the wrappers and place the cupcakes on a covered cookie sheet in the freezer until solid.

Prepare a muffin pan to use as a mold for your Baked Alaska's by lightly spraying the inside of 6 wells with cooking spray and lining each well with plastic wrap, allowing enough of the plastic wrap to hang out over the edges of each mold to use as handles later. When the cupcakes are completely frozen remove them from the freezer and use a serrated knife to cut the tops off of each cupcake, save the tops for another use. *I sandwiched a scoop of ice cream in between 2 muffin tops, wrapped in plastic wrap and froze again. They made pretty amazing ice cream sandwiches for Eliza after school! Take the remaining cupcake that you have left and cut in half, place the bottom half of the cupcake into the prepared muffin pan and top with a small scoop of ice cream  use a spoon to level out the ice cream making sure that all of the bottom layer of cupcake is covered. Then top the ice cream layer with the other half of the cupcake that is left. Fold the edges of the plastic wrap over to completely cover the cupcake then repeat with the remaining cupcakes and ice cream until you have 6 completed. Wrap the entire muffin pan tightly in plastic wrap and place back in the freezer until frozen solid. About 2-3 hours or overnight. *You can complete through this step a few days in advance then continue with the following steps when you are ready to serve.

To prepare the meringue, combine the 6 egg whites and remaining ingredients in the top of a double boiler. *If you do not have a double boiler place a heatproof glass bowl over a  pan of simmering water. Cook over simmering water for about 2 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 150°F, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from the heat. Beat the egg mixture with a mixer at medium speed until soft peaks form then beat at high speed until stiff peaks form.

Invert the frozen ice cream filled cupcakes from their molds onto a baking sheet and discard the plastic wrap. Divide the meringue among the 6 servings, and spread evenly over each dome ensuring that each one is completely covered and that no cake or ice cream is showing. Hold a kitchen torch about 3 inches from the meringue, moving back and forth until lightly browned. Transfer to individual plates and serve immediately.

We are happy to have shared this recipe at the Gluten-Free Friday’s link up party hosted by Vegetarian Mamma! Hop on over to find more great gf recipes.