Lunch: Baked Alaska With Strawberry Ice Cream

Cool ice cream underneath sweet peaks of meringue makes for an impressive dessert to serve someone special.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 cups granulated sugar
7 eggs
1 1-ounce bottle red food coloring
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
6 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cups sugar
1 gallon strawberry ice cream

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 °.
Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Using a mixing bowl, combine the butter, shortening, and sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the food coloring and vanilla. Combine the flour and salt, and add to the creamed mixture alternating with the milk, beating well. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack.
Preheat the broiler.
To make the meringue, place egg whites and cream of tartar into a mixing bowl. Beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and beat until stiff and set aside.
To assemble the Baked Alaska you have to work quickly. Slice the cake into 1/2-inch thick slices. Spread top of 1/2 of the cake slices with about 1 cup strawberry ice cream. Top with the remaining half of the cake slices. Place on a sheet pan. Spread meringue on all sides and form peaks using a knife. Broil until the meringue is light brown. Be careful not to burn peaks.