SUNDAY DESSERT #59: Omelette Norvéggiene (better known as Baked Alaska)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: France 🇫🇷
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Easy-Intermediate
INSPIRATION: A perfect wintertime dessert for when it's nice to stay inside.
RECEPTION/COMMENTARY: The history of this dessert is long and there have been several variations based on experimentations by scientists and inventors. American physicist Sir Benjamin Thompson, for instance, discovered that meringue is an excellent insulator. He found that if he completely surrounded ice in meringue it would keep from melting when placed in a hot oven. The French took this amazing discovery and applied it to the culinary arts. They topped a cake with an ice cream dome and then encompassed it with meringue which was then broiled to beautiful perfection. They named it Omelette Norvégienne because the frosty ice cream inside reminded them of frozen Norway. But there are several name variations such as Omelette Sibérienne, Omelette Surprise, Bombe Alaska, Alaska Florida, or the most widely known Baked Alaska.
The cake on the bottom is typically a vanilla sponge, but any cake will do. Chocolate is another popular choice. I chose to make mine with a classic pound cake paired with cookie dough ice cream.
And the verdict? It's SO good but SO sweet. You better have a glass of water close by after eating a slice of this stuff because it'll coat your throat with sugar. Totally worth it though! Jared and I both agreed that it was about an 8/10. And the dessert looks impressive, but isn't actually too hard to make. Bonus!
WOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN? I would totally make this again with a brownie base paired with the cookie dough ice cream. Yum!
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