Halloween Baked Alaska for Priya {Gluten-Free}

Yesterday we went to our friends' house for their annual Halloween bash. We eat, we laugh, we drink, and then we trick-or-treat. I asked her what I could bring and she asked if I could make a Baked Alaska. Apparently, she's been coveting one since I posted this one, this one, and - maybe - this one. Done. It had to be gluten-free because her son and a few guests can't tolerate gluten.

Ingredients

Cake base

3/4 C gluten-free flour (I used King Arthur brand)
2 eggs
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 C olive oil
1 C organic granulated sugar
6 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t molasses
1 t vanilla
freshly ground sea salt

To assemble

ice cream (I used pumpkin and eggnog)
8 egg whites
2 T organic granulated sugar
Also needed: butane torch

Procedure

Line a baking dish with parchment paper and butter to keep the cake from sticking. Mix all of the cake ingredients together until just moistened. Bake in a buttered pan for 30-35 minutes until the cake is set.

For the ice cream, I usually do this the night before: line a bowl with plastic wrap, press slightly softened ice cream into the bowl, cover it tightly with more plastic wrap, and refreeze. For this cake I used pumpkin ice cream and eggnog ice cream. I was trying to make a candy corn-looking slice with the orange from the pumpkin, yellow from the eggnog, and white from the meringue. But when you use non-food colored ice cream, it's all in muted shades.

Once you're all set to assemble, separate 8 eggs, placing the whites in a large stainless steel bowl. Add 2 T organic granulated sugar. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Place the cake on your serving dish. Turn molded ice cream out onto cake. Quickly and prettily spread meringue over cake. Make sure to have lots of little peaks because that it what browns. Spread the meringue all the way to dish to seal. Return to freezer until ready to serve.

Traditionally, you brown this in the oven. Since I was doing this at a friend's house, I decided to brown the peaks with my torch. It was simple and might be the way I make Baked Alaska from now on. Serve immediately!

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