Baked Alaska Cupcakes
Looking for something unique to serve this holiday season? Look no further than this mini baked Alaska recipe. Instead of a single, classic baked Alaska, this version of a traditional dessert makes it easy to serve individual portions. This baked Alaska cupcakes recipe features rich chocolate cake and dairy free ice cream topped with a delicate meringue frosting that’s toasted to perfection.
Why I love this baked Alaska recipe
With everything that’s going on in the world right now, we have no clue what the holidays will look like this year. The one thing I do know is that I want to make them special for our family, which means, making something extra-special for dessert.
These baked Alaska cupcakes are perfect because they’re a little bit fancier than what I would normally make for the holidays. Which means they take a little more effort, but that effort is totally worth it.
They’re a beautiful dessert, and the kids will never expect to find ice cream in their cupcakes. Plus, the recipe only makes 6 cupcakes, which is especially perfect for this crazy year.
What is baked Alaska?
Baked Alaska is a dessert that consists of cake topped with ice cream, then the whole thing is covered in meringue. It is traditionally broiled in the oven to toast the meringue, which is where it gets the ‘baked’ part of its name.
How does ice cream not melt in baked Alaska? As long as the ice cream is properly frozen, the meringue topping acts as an insulator and slows down the melting process when the meringue is baked or toasted.
To make ours dairy free, I used Hudsonville Ice Cream’s dairy free cherry fudge flavor, but they are sadly no longer making it. So feel free to use whatever dairy free ice cream you prefer.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
- Candy thermometer
- Muffin pan
- Cupcake liners
- Large cookie scoop
How to make baked Alaska cupcakes
If you want to make this recipe a little easier, feel free to use cake mix that makes 12 cupcakes. You could also make a basic yellow cake recipe instead of chocolate. It’s totally up to you.
Mix the cake batter.
Start by preheating your oven to 350˚F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together. Stir to combine. Then add the oil, oat milk, egg and vanilla extract. Stir or whisk together until smooth.
Bake the cupcakes.
Divide the batter between 6 cupcake liners. They should be about halfway full. Bake the cupcakes for 18 – 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them rest until they’re cool enough to handle. Next, cut off the tops of the cupcakes to create a flat surface, leaving a little bit of space between the top and the cupcake liner.
Scoop the ice cream.
Top each cupcake with a scoop of dairy free ice cream. You’ll want to make sure you leave a little space between the scoop of ice cream and the edge of the cupcake so the meringue topping has somewhere to go.
Place the cupcakes with ice cream back in the freezer to make sure the scoops are extra cold and frozen before topping with meringue.
Make the meringue.
In a double boiler – or a heatproof bowl over a saucepan with about 1-inch of boiling water – heat the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar. Heat to 160˚F, stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
With an electric mixer, beat the egg white mixture at a high speed for about 5 minutes, or until soft peaks have formed. If the meringue hasn’t cooled completely, let it rest, and then transfer it to a piping bag.
Pipe or spoon the meringue onto the cupcakes, being sure to cover the ice cream completely.
You can do this one of two ways, in the oven or with a kitchen torch. I prefer a torch because it’s easier and there’s less of a chance that the ice cream will melt.
If you want to use a kitchen torch, simply remove your cupcakes from the freezer and toast the meringue until golden brown. You can serve them immediately or allow them to rest for no more than 10 minutes to let the cake thaw a bit.
If you need or would prefer to use a broiler, place the frozen cupcakes under the broiler for about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on them the whole time – leave the door cracked so you can really see what’s going on. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Can I make these ahead of time?
Yes, but I would recommend making everything in advance and assembling the cupcakes ahead of time. Hold off on adding the meringue and toasting though. Do this right before serving.
The meringue can be prepared ahead of time and stored in a pastry bag or air tight container. If needed, you can refreeze the baked Alaskas once the meringue is toasted.
FAQs about baked Alaska
You’ll want to serve baked Alaska right after toasting the meringue, or freeze the finished dessert (or leftovers) for up to 1 month.
Since the meringue won’t freeze solid, you will want to make sure the baked Alaska has a decent amount of space to prevent the meringue from being crushed.
More things to make with vegan ice cream:
- Hot fudge sauce recipe
- Grasshopper pie
- Frozen hot chocolate
- Blue moon ice cream
- Ice cream cookie sandwich
- Vegan caramel sauce
More dairy free desserts:
- Vegan apple crisp
- No chill sugar cookies
- Blueberry crumble pie
- Dark chocolate cake
- Pecan snowball cookies
Baked Alaska Cupcakes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Looking for something unique to serve this holiday season? Look no further than this mini baked Alaska recipe. Instead of a single, classic baked Alaska, this version of a traditional dessert makes it easy to serve individual portions. This baked Alaska cupcakes recipe features rich chocolate cake and dairy free ice cream topped with a delicate meringue frosting that’s toasted to perfection.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon dark cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/4 cup dairy free milk
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pint dairy free ice cream
For the meringue:
- 2 egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions
To make the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add in oil, milk, sugar, vanilla extract and egg. Whisk until the mixture is lump free and evenly mixed.
- Divide batter into prepared cupcake liners.
- Bake cupcakes for 18 – 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow cupcakes to cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Cut off the domes of the cupcakes, leaving about 1/4-inch above the liner, to create a flat surface.
- Top each cupcake with a scoop of dairy free ice cream. Freeze cupcakes like this for at least 1 hour, or until just before serving.
To make the meringue frosting:
- In a double boiler or a heatproof glass bowl over a saucepan with about 1″ of boiling water, combine egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar.
- Using a thermometer to monitor temperature, heat the mixture, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Continue stirring and heat until the mixture reaches 155-160˚F. Transfer the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a hand mixer).
- Beat the meringue mixture at a high speed for about 5 minutes, or until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temp.
- Transfer meringue to a piping bag and completely cover ice cream scoop on each cupcake.
- Toast meringue with a kitchen torch or broil at 450˚F for about 4 minutes.
Notes
This recipe makes 6 cupcakes. The recipe is easily doubled and has been tested to ensure that it will work. Feel free to make a full dozen if you’re serving more than 6 people.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 359
- Sugar: 38.9 g
- Sodium: 105.9 mg
- Fat: 14.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 54.2 g
- Fiber: 3.8 g
- Protein: 4.7 g
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
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