Spiced Honey and Kahlua Baked Alaska
Ingredients
- 125 g Cake Flour
- 150 g Sugar, divided use
- 1¼ tsp. Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp. Kosher Salt
- ½ tsp. Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. Nutmeg, freshly
- ¼ tsp. Allspice
- 63 g Egg Yolks
- 48 g Flavorless Oil
- 30 g Water
- 1 T Honey
- ½ tsp. Molasses
- ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 113 g Egg Whites
- 25 g Sugar
- Spice Syrup, recipe follows
- Coffee Ice Cream, recipe follows
- Honey Caramel, recipe follows
- Cinnamon Meringue, recipe follows
- Honey, for drizzling
PREPARATION
Whisk together flour, 125 grams of sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Set aside. Whisk together yolks, oil, water, honey, molasses and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth.
Whip egg whites into soft peaks, stream in remaining 25 grams of sugar and whip to medium peaks. Whisk in ⅓ of meringue to batter. Fold remaining meringue to batter in two additions.
Grease, flour and line with parchment two 6x3-inch cake pans, and scale out 235 grams of batter per prepared pan. Bake in a heated 325°F set at convection for 18 minutes. Cool; trim tops of cakes and trim to ¾-inch layers.
Generously spray a 6x3-inch cake pan and line with plastic wrap, leaving plenty of length over the sides. Add 1 cake layer and brush with spice syrup. Press in 1¼ cup of ice cream, and drizzle 1½ tablespoons of honey caramel on top; use a skewer to swirl into ice cream. Repeat with another cake layer, spice syrup, ice cream and honey caramel swirl. Freeze for at least 4 hours; overnight is preferred.
At service, place meringue in a piping bag with a ½-inch round tip. Invert frozen cake onto serving platter and pipe circles of meringue to cover the entire cake; this will look like a honey hive. Use a kitchen torch to toast meringue. Drizzle honey on top before serving. Serve immediately.
To make spice syrup: Bring 150 grams of water, 115 grams of sugar, 20 grams of brown sugar, 3 cinnamon sticks, 2 whole nutmeg and 2 clove pieces to boil. Steep for 30 minutes, cool, strain and add 4 grams of vanilla extract.
To make coffee liqueur ice cream: Combine 720 grams of milk, 720 grams of heavy cream, 125 grams of sugar and 90 grams of glucose or corn syrup and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk 125 grams of sugar into 360 grams of egg yolks. Slowly whisk hot milk into yolks. Return mixture to heat to thicken slightly. Strain and chill for at least 4 hours. When ready to spin, whisk in 150 grams of coffee liqueur, preferably Kahlua, 1½ tablespoon of vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of coffee extract. Spin and chill.
To make honey caramel: Heat 143 grams of honey and 103 grams of sugar until the latter dissolves and the mixture caramelizes and darkens. Remove from heat and whisk in 83 grams of heavy cream and 14 grams of salted butter.
To make cinnamon meringue: Whisk together 225 grams of egg whites, 340 grams of sugar and ¾ teaspoon of cream of tartar in a mixer bowl. Place in stove-top water bath and whisk to 145°F. Whip until meringue is fluffy and cool to touch. Add ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.
Pastry Chef Heather Hutton | Edmunds Oast, Charleston, South Carolina