S'mores Baked Alaska
Check out the video tutorial!
FAQs
Questions and answers will be added here. Have a question? Email BEL@bakeeatlovebox.com
1.) The brown sugar and brown butter mixture still look a bit separated after I have been whisking them for a bit, is this okay?
Answer: Yes, the sugar and butter mixture will still look a bit separated after being whisked. Once the eggs are added in and the mixture is whisked together, you will see the ingredients become homogenous.
2.) What if I want to make half of the recipe today and the other half tomorrow?
Answer: The blondies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The ice cream, if kept in the sealed quart container, can be held in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. The fragile component of this recipe is the meringue. Meringue is tricky to hold and is at its best when used right after it is made. However, we did some testing to make sure that the meringue recipe you are whipping up can be held up to one day in the refrigerator. After making the meringue and using it to make the desired number of treats on day one. Place it in an airtight container with a lid and put it in the refrigerator. Your piping bag can be washed and reused! After washing it, flip it inside out and allow it to dry completely before using it again. For best results we don't recommend chilling the meringue in the piping bag overnight. On day two when you are ready to make more S'mores baked Alaska, using a silverware spoon scoop the chilled meringue into the piping bag, taking care to not scoop all the way to the bottom. There might be a little liquid separation at the bottom of your container, you don't want to mix this in with the nice fluffy meringue. After your meringue has been put into your piping bag place it in the refrigerator while you assemble your blondies and ice cream scoops. Then proceed with the recipe starting from step 13.
3.) What does it mean to fold in baking or cooking?
Answer: Folding is a technique that is used to keep your mixture airy and fluffy. It is also a great method to use when adding dry ingredients to wet ingredients to ensure the batter is not overwhipped. When an ingredient is stirred into a mixture rather than folded, the batter loses air and becomes denser. Folding the chocolate mixture into the whip cream helps keep it nice and fluffy. Folding the flour into the blondie batter maintains the structure of the batter and helps create a nice chewy crumb.
Most importantly, how do I fold? Using a spatula, scrape along the bottom of the bowl towards you, lifting up on the spatula and scooping the ingredients over. Rotate the bowl and repeat this process until the added ingredient(s) is incorporated into your mixture.
4.) Tell me more about peaks! What do soft peaks and stiff peaks look like?
Answer: In step 10 and 11 you are following instructions to make a meringue topping for your S'mores! It is important to start mixing the ingredients on a lower speed before cranking it up, so that they don't fly out of your mixer all over your kitchen. The first stage that you are looking for before turning your mixer to high is for the ingredients to be an opaque white color and have the consistency of an uncooked egg yolk (see image below). The second stage that is achieved after turning the mixer up to high speed for about 5 minutes is soft peaks (see photo below). Soft peaks have volume and when you lift up your whisk attachment the mixture flows off but does not immediately dissolve into the rest of the mixture. The 3rd and final stage are stiff peaks. After adding the rest of the sugar in step 11 and whipping the meringue mixture on high speed for about 4 more minutes you will notice that the meringue has developed more volume, the consistency is thicker (like marshmallow fluff), and it looks nice and glossy (see photo below).
1.) Opaque white stage 2.) Soft peaks 3.) Stiff peaks
Best Practices:
- When piping the meringue on your ice cream in step 14. Do this process as swiftly as possible. If your kitchen is warm and you notice that your ice cream is melting. Pop your tray in the freezer for about 15 minutes to firm everything up before baking.
- After placing your S'more's baked Alaska in the oven, don't walk away! 500 degrees is a hot oven! The meringue will start browning pretty quickly. Keep a close eye on it!