Culinary Adventures with Camilla

If we always start his birthday with crêpes , we always end it with a Baked Alaska. He is definitely a creature of habit. Thankfully we weren't camping or hauling the dessert anywhere. We made and served it within 10 feet of the kitchen. Easy. Really this dessert is all about the presentation. You need a cake, gluten-free for us in this case as Jake and R's best buddy are both gluten-free; you need ice cream, frozen into a bowl; you need whipped egg whites; and you need an oven or a culinary torch, we had the latter.  Happy birthday to Riley!! Fifteen? I'm still reeling from that one. And, yes, I bought the chocolate cake base this year. It's been a tough couple of weeks as the school year wraps up. And I didn't feel like hauling cake batter to a friend's or my mom's oven. Don't judge. Ingredients cake (I used a store-bought flourless chocolate cake) ice cream (I used coffee ice cream) 8 egg whites 2 T organic granulated sugar A...

Every year, for R's birthday cake, he requests a Baked Alaska. This year, it had to be gluten-free (for Jake and another guest) and it had to be yellow. Okay... And, to go with his Asian-themed lunch (we had Spicy Meatball Bánh Mì ), he wanted it made with some kind of tropical flair. So, I made a variation of our favorite hot milk sponge cake as the base and topped it with jackfruit ice cream.  Ingredients 8 T butter, cut into 8 pieces 1/2 C milk 1-1/2 C gluten-free flour 2 t baking powder 3 large eggs 1/2 t salt 1 C organic granulated sugar 1/2 t lemon extract 1/2 t pure vanilla extract To assemble ice cream (I used jackfruit) 8 egg whites 2 T organic granulated sugar Procedure Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine milk and butter in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat until the butter is completely melted. Remove from the heat. Stir together the flour and baking powder. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs to break the...

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 s...

Yesterday we had 10 kids over here all day plus their parents over for dinner after that. I didn't sit down for almost 12 hours! As always, R requested a Baked Alaska for his dessert. I obliged, but I did use a boxed gluten-free mix for the cake since we had guests with celiac and my gluten-free (cake) baking skills leave much to be desired. Make the cake and prepare the ice cream ahead of time so all you have to do is assemble and brown the meringue before serving this dramatic dessert. *Note: the close-up photos of the Alaska - not the candles and singing - are from a previous post. Sorry, I didn't take any new close-ups last night. Meringue Ingredients egg whites from 8 eggs dash of freshly ground salt 3 T organic powdered sugar Procedure 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 Black C...

What did I want to do when we got home from a 2-day camping trip yesterday? Nothing. I didn't even want to unload the car. But... It was R's 12th birthday and he had asked me to take a Baked Alaska on the camping trip "so that he could share it with his friends." No. Then he asked if he could have it for his family birthday dinner - at home. How could I say no?!? Make the cake and prepare the ice cream ahead of time so all you have to do is assemble and brown the meringue before serving this dramatic dessert. *Note: the photos of the Alaska (not the candles and singing) are from a previous post. Sorry, I didn't take any new close-ups last night. Chocolate Cake Ingredients 3/4 C flour (I used white whole wheat flour) 2 eggs 1/2 t baking powder 1/2 C olive oil 1 C organic granulated sugar 6 T unsweetened cocoa powder 1 t honey 1 t vanilla dash of freshly ground salt 1/2 t ground cardamom dash of ground cinnamon dash of ground nutmeg ...

"I want a Baked Alaska for my birthday cake. Well, not a cake. But you know what I mean, right?" declared my almost eleven-year-old when we were discussing what to bring for his birthday party picnic. Riley, I can't bring a Baked Alaska to the Pinnacles. It's an hour and a half away; and there's no oven though, during the summer, it often feels like an oven. Remind me again why we're hauling five families and an entire lunch over there for a party?!? Our compromise: I brought rhubarb pies to the birthday picnic and promised to make him a Baked Alaska for his real birthday 'cake.' I took Riley with me to the store - to pick his ice cream flavor(s) - and  he immediately honed in on 'Moose Tracks' ice cream. Never heard of it? Me neither. But he was set on it. He selected a vanilla version and a mint version with ribbons of fudge and chunks of chocolate. Not quite sure what the 'tracks' are - poop?!? - but he loved that it fi...

With food available on a cruise ship twenty-four hours a day, you could easily characterize it as a food parade. But I had no idea that there would be a literal parade of food. On our last formal evening, the kitchen crew paraded dozens of baked alaskas through the dining room while diners hooped, hollered, pounded on the tables, and waved their napkins in the air. We [heart] baked alaska. Here are some of the ones we've made: Chocolate-Barley Brownie Baked Alaska  and Mosaic Baked Alaska .