Baked Alaska
Nicole Smulski at Scales
Photos by Liz Caron
Photo by Karen Watterson
Baked Alaska is a party on a plate, a celebratory dessert with a little of everything. There’s cake, there’s ice cream, there’s fancy meringue swooshes and there are even flames. The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets (my bible!) calls Baked Alaska a “trick dessert,” made possible by “using the insulating properties of the air in the cake and the meringue to deliver hot and cold temperatures in the same dish.” It’s been around since Delmonico’s restaurant in New York City created the dessert in 1867 to celebrate the American government’s purchase of Alaska that year.
So, Baked Alaska been a festive finale right from the start. Maybe that’s why it’s the go-to celebration dessert at Scales, where pastry chef Nicole Smulski makes dozens of them each week. “It’s the winner for us,” says Nicole. “People love them so much, and it made sense for us when I saw how much frozen custard we do.” Frozen custard? “Yep, we make about five or six different flavors every day,” Nicole tells me. “There’s always vanilla, wild blueberry and a flavor of the day, for sundaes, frappes and pints to go.” The Baked Alaska custard flavor is currently bananas foster, a banana base with a rum caramel swirl. A generous scoop is piled atop a fudgy flourless chocolate cake base, then frozen overnight. In the afternoon, before service begins, the custard is covered in swirls of Swiss meringue. When an order comes in to the “celebration station”, the meringue is browned with kitchen torch and topped with more rum caramel as well as caramelized bananas. “Happy Birthday” or whatever salutation is most appropriate gets piped on the plate with chocolate, and if requested, a candle or two can be arranged. Sounds simple enough, but Nicole admits it’s a bit of a daily struggle to keep up with the dessert’s popularity.
It was Nicole who first brought the idea of a Baked Alaska to Scales. She had worked as a pastry chef at several Boston-area restaurants, including Barbara Lynch’s No. 9 Park and Menton. And she had been making the dessert for while at Catalyst, a Cambridge restaurant, before making the move to Maine. Thankfully, she brought the Baked Alaska idea with her, making it a fast local favorite. “I don’t think there’s anyone else doing it,” says Nicole. “Sometimes restaurants will do at as a special, but I think Scales is the only place that has it on the menu. And we’ll never be able to take it off.”
Sweet Links
In my last post, I sort of dissed the Piecaken. Then I saw this 3-layer Passcaken and I really wish I had one, but it’s sold out.
Even if you think your baking skills are questionable, you can easily make this addictive chocolate-covered Matza Toffee. I jazzed mine up with colorful sprinkles.
I follow this woman on Instagram and am always amazed at the gorgeous desserts she makes with Cadbury Eggs and other candy. Those meringues!
When I worked with Ragged Coast Chocolates, I made dozens of these adorable hedgehogs, from dates, almonds and dark chocolate. They’re one of the cute critters perfect for a springtime chocolate treat.