Baked Alaska Pizza
Delight in this divine combination of velvety meringue, luscious ice cream, and a pillowy pizza crust. We plan to indulge all the Mums in our lives with this beauty on Mother's Day.
Ingredients
- 250g pizza dough ball for a 12-inch pizza or 350g for a larger 16-inch pizza
- Some flour for dusting
- 568ml raspberry ripple ice cream
- Fresh raspberries to garnish
For the Italian meringue
- 3 large egg whites
- 240g granulated sugar
- 120ml water
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
method
Italian Meringue
- Measure out all your ingredients so they are ready to use as you need them.
- Put the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, and have the cream of tartar, lemon juice and vanilla extract nearby.
- Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan, and place over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Don't stir the mixture during this time. It will look cloudy.
- After 5 minutes is up, gently stir the mixture for 1 minute. There should be little to no sugar granules left at this point.
- When the mixture begins to bubble from the bottom of the pan, place a digital thermometer in the pot and increase the heat. Don't stir the mixture, allowing it to come to a boil.
- When the sugar mixture reaches 110 C, turn the stand mixer to the highest setting and whip the egg whites until soft peaks form.
- When the sugar mixture reaches 115 C, remove from the heat and remove the thermometer probe.
- Allow the boiling reduce to as low bubble.
- With the stand mixer running, slowly pour a steady stream of the sugar syrup into the whipped egg whites. Be super careful to avoid the whisk or it will fling hot sugar around.
- Immediately after all the sugar syrup is in, add the cream of tartar, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
- Allow the mixture to whisk for 3-5 minutes, until stiff, glossy peaks form.
method
Baked Alaska Pizza
- Fire up the pizza oven to get it nice and hot.
- Place your pizza dough ball on a lightly floured work surface.
- Push the air out from the centre to the edge with your fingers, and stretch the dough to form a 12 or 16-inch pizza base, depending on the size of your ball.
- Use a docker or fork to punch holes in the dough. This stops it inflating in the oven.
- Carefully transfer the pizza base to your peel. Remember to dust the peel with flour or semolina to prevent the dough from sticking.
- Bake in the pizza oven for around 2 minutes. If it does start to inflate, use your peel to gently flatten it.
- Remove and allow the pizza base to cool completely. It helps to stick it in the freezer for a few minutes to chill it down fully.
- When you're happy the base is cold, scoop a generous mound of ice cream evenly over the base, leaving a small border around the edge.
- Pop the ice cream pizza back in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to avoid any melting.
- Remove from the freezer and spread the meringue evenly over the ice cream, covering the entire surface.
- Now for the really fun bit. Use a blow torch to evenly toast the meringue and create a beautiful, caramelised finish.
- Garnish with fresh raspberries for an extra burst of colour and flavour.
- Slice your Baked Alaska Pizza into wedges and serve up immediately, while the meringue is still warm and the ice cream is cold.
- Happy Day!
