This is a Black Forest-flavoured Mini Baked Alaska with a chocolate cake base, vanilla cherry ice cream, and a lightly torched meringue. The juxtaposition of hot and cold makes this dessert fun to make, and even more fun to eat!
Both my husband and I share birthdays in September. Within a week of each other.
That usually means I make a cake for the both of us.
This year, I decided I was going to try something new. A Mini Baked Alaska.
Still the same flavours of black forest, but Baked Alaska style.
What is a baked Alaska?
It's an American dessert with a sponge cake base, ice cream, and meringue covered all over.
The meringue is traditionally baked in the oven to caramelize the exterior.
My Mom would make Baked Alaska so it was a dessert that I grew up with, but never attempted to make, until now.

3 components
There are 3 main components to this Mini Baked Alaska:
- chocolate cake base
- cherry vanilla ice cream
- meringue
For the cake, I chose to do a chocolate cake with milk chocolate and cocoa.
It's not a sponge cake, but I might try to do it with a sponge cake next time.
The ice cream is a no-churn cherry vanilla ice cream. I've got a few different recipes for no-churn ice cream, including:
For the cherry vanilla ice cream, I substituted in about ½ C of frozen cherries and added in more vanilla extract.
And the meringue is simply an egg white and sugar, heated over a double boiler and whipped up until stiff.

How to make the chocolate cake
Sift together the dry ingredients into a bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg, sugar, milk, oil, and vanilla extract together.
Melt the chocolate, cool it slightly and stir it into the egg mixture.
Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Pour the batter into a lightly greased in a 4" springform pan.
Bake at 350F for about 13-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with the slight crumbs clinging to it.
Let the cake cool, and then slice off the domed top.
How to make the meringue
Don't make the meringue until you're ready to serve.
You'll need 1 large egg white and 3 tablespoon of sugar.
Add the egg white and sugar to a heat-safe stand mixer bowl. Place the bowl over top a small pot with simmering water.
Whisk until the egg white becomes foamy and the sugar dissolves, reaching a temperature of 160F.
Remove from heat, attach the bowl to the stand mixer and whisk until the meringue reaches stiff peaks.

How to assemble
Line a small bowl (with an approximate 4" diameter at its opening) with plastic wrap, and make sure there's enough overhang.
Place anywhere from ½ C to 1 C of softened ice cream into the small bowl and smooth out with the back of a spoon. (Have enough space for the cake to sit on top).
Freeze the ice cream for 2-3 hours. Remove from the freezer and place the chocolate cake onto the ice cream and wrap it up.
Return to the freezer to freeze for 4-6 hours.
When ready to serve, make the meringue.
Remove the cake/ice cream from the freezer. Cover the cake with the meringue and carefully use a blowtorch to lightly caramelize the exterior.
Note: If you don't have a kitchen blowtorch, you can place the cake onto a baking sheet and place it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, until the meringue is lightly browned.
Serve immediately.
Various textures in one bite
There is a juxtaposition of flavours and textures in Baked Alaska -- from the warm, caramel notes in the meringue to the cold yet melty cherry ice cream and rich chocolate cake.
This Mini Baked Alaska is perfect for 4 small servings.
Other mini desserts you may like
If you like this miniature dessert, you might like:
Mini Matcha Hojicha Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Matcha & Hojicha Pancakes Cereal
Let me know if you try out this recipe. Tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below! Have you had a Baked Alaska before?
Mini Baked Alaska
Equipment
- kitchen blowtorch
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
Mini Chocolate Cake:
- ¼ C cake flour sifted
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 ½ tablespoon cocoa powder sifted
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoon whole milk
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 30 g milk chocolate melted
Ice cream:
- ½-1 C ice cream flavour of your choice softened
Meringue:
- 1 large egg white
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
Make the chocolate cake:
- Sift together the dry ingredients into a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg, sugar, milk, oil, and vanilla extract together.
- Melt the chocolate, cool it slightly and stir it into the egg mixture.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into a lightly greased 4" springform pan.
- Bake at 350°F/177°C for about 13-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with slight crumbs clinging to it.
- Let the cake cool, and then slice off the domed top.
Make the meringue: (Don't make the meringue until you're ready to serve).
- Add the egg white and sugar to a heat-safe stand mixer bowl. Place the bowl over top a small pot with simmering water.
- Whisk until the egg white becomes foamy and the sugar dissolves, reaching a temperature of 160°F/71°C.
- Remove from heat, attach the bowl to the stand mixer and whisk until the meringue reaches stiff peaks.
Assemble:
- Line a small bowl (with an approximate 4" diameter at its opening) with plastic wrap, and make sure there's enough overhang.
- Place anywhere from ½ C to 1 C of softened ice cream into the small bowl and smooth out with the back of a spoon. (Have enough space for the cake to sit on top).
- Freeze the ice cream for 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and place the chocolate cake onto the ice cream and wrap it up.
- Return to the freezer to freeze for 4-6 hours.
- When ready to serve, make the meringue.
- Remove the cake/ice cream from the freezer. Cover the cake with the meringue and carefully use a kitchen blowtorch to lightly caramelize the exterior.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.
Rahul @samosastreet
Belated birthday wishes Michelle. This mini baked alaska looks super cute. Loved it that its no bake and I can top it with my fav ice cream
Michelle
Thanks so much, Rahul! 🙂 It was certainly a fun dessert to make!
David @ Spiced
For starters, happy birthday wishes to both you and your husband! However, I do hope you made 2 of these baked Alaskas - you each deserve a cake (or special dessert) for your birthday! As far as baked Alaskas, my mom used to make these, too - I wonder if they were just more popular back in the day. You don't hear much about them anymore. I applaud you for tackling this recipe though - it looks amazing! And the photo with the sparkler is perfect. 🙂
Michelle
Thank you so much, David! Yes, baked alaskas must have been more popular in the 90s...? 😀
Christie
Happy birthday to you and your husband Michelle! This is just amazing and I love how gorgeous it is! Just stunning.
Michelle
Thank you so much Christie! 🙂
Priya @priyascurrynation
looks so good.
Michelle
Thanks Priya!
Leanne
I've always been fascinated with baked alaskas and have always wanted to make one. Thanks for all the details in this post Michelle. It's less intimidating now, and a mini one is perfect for the hubby and I!
Michelle
Yay, that's what I love about mini desserts -- they can be much more manageable 🙂
Linsey
Delicious! Very easy to to make. Made a few times already.