Baked Alaska

This is definitely one of the coolest desserts I've ever made (Haha -- excessively corny pun intended). The short amount of time this creation spends baking warms the cake base, which is delightfully contrasted by the cold, ice cream filling; and the firmness from the toasted meringue crust, which maintains a soft, marshmallow-like consistency, adds another dimension of texture and flavor. But even after this cake has been put in the freezer, supposing it's too big for everyone to finish, it's still a delightful frozen treat -- a sort of superior ice cream cake.

For the cake portion, I used half of my favorite chocolate cake recipe, which is an 8 inch round cake. For the ice cream portion, I used about 20 oz. of a coffee-flavored ice cream made by a company local to New Orleans. And for the crust, I made a basic vanilla meringue.

Ingredients for the meringue:
8 egg whites
2 cups granulated sugar
pinch of salt
splash of vanilla

Direction:
In a bowl with a whisk attachment, combine all ingredients and whisk until stiff peaks form.

For the Baked Alaska:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a baking sheet, place cake; top with cold ice cream. (It's best if you leave the ice cream in the freezer until the entire cake is ready for assembly. Meaning, you should have your oven heated and your meringue in the piping bag.) Try forming your ice cream into a dome shape. It doesn't have to be perfect because the meringue will conceal imperfections. Using a piping bag fitted with a star tip, pipe meringue over the entire cake. Bake 5 to 7 minutes, or until the meringue develops golden brown tips.

Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Mmm... I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. I last made this cake about a month ago. Though it wasn't the first time using this cake recipe, it was my first time frosting it with milk chocolate cream cheese frosting, which I believe to be the perfect compliment to this particular cake recipe. A quick note about the cake recipe: it is not my creation. It's the most popular chocolate cake recipe on allrecipes.com with, last I checked, over 900 five star reviews. It's also just as highly reviewed on foodnetwork.com. There you'll find it listed among Ina Garten's recipes. Here are the links:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Black-Magic-Cake/Detail.aspx

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe/index.html

So I won't bother with typing up the cake recipe. But I will share my milk chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe.

Ingredients:
6 oz. milk chocolate
1 tablespoon butter
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
In a double boiler, melt milk chocolate and butter until just melted. Whisk and remove from heat. In a bowl with a beater attachment, begin mixing the cream cheese and beat in melted chocolate. Alternate adding confectioners sugar and milk until you've achieved the desired consistency.