baked Alaska

/ˈbeɪkt əˌlæskə/

If you can't decide whether you want ice cream, cake, or meringue for dessert, you should opt for baked Alaska, which is a combination of all three.

In 1867, a French version of this dessert debuted at the Paris World's Fair as "Norwegian omelette." Baked Alaska, a similar dessert, was created in the 19th century to celebrate the newly acquired northern territory of Alaska. The dessert is assembled by setting molded ice cream onto a sponge cake base and sealing it completely in a thick blanket of meringue. Just before serving, it goes into a blazing-hot oven, baking just long enough to caramelize the meringue before the insulated ice cream can melt.

Definitions of baked Alaska

1. noun

   a dessert consisting of hard-frozen ice cream on a sponge-cake base, entirely covered in meringue and briefly browned in an oven or with a torch
   type of:

   afters, dessert, sweet

   a dish served as the last course of a meal