The hunt for baked Alaska in Ann Arbor
Baked Alaska - a favorite dessert from years gone by.
Photo by Flickr user vxla.
When I was a child, appliances were avocado and harvest gold, The Moosewood vegetarian cookbook was considered revolutionary, and baked Alaska was just about the fanciest dessert I could imagine.
I got an email over the weekend from a reader who, inspired by a post about cronuts — those miraculous croissant-doughnut hybrids that have taken New York by storm — wanted to know if I knew where she could find baked Alaska in the Ann Arbor area.
The email immediately brought back memories of the baked Alaskas of my childhood, usually made on special occasions by my oma in Toronto. Oma had a whole slate of impressive desserts for holiday and birthday meals, including an incredible trifle and dramatic cherries jubilee. But it was the baked Alaska, made with an entire half gallon of Neapolitan ice cream, that made the biggest impression on me.
But time marches on, and baked Alaskas are no longer a staple of fine dining. I put the question to friends on Facebook. Some remembered the dessert being on the menu at the old Lord Fox, another confirmed that it was a menu item at the Movable Feast in the early 1980s.
After downloading dozens of online menus and calling another half-dozen restaurants, I've been able to confirm that Weber's Restaurant occasionally has baked Alaska as a seasonal dessert... in the winter.
Now that this email has me obsessing about the baked Alaskas of my youth, I might just have to make one at home. Local food blog From The Kitchen of Olivia has a delicious-looking recipe posted, as does Martha Stewart.
Do you have a favorite dessert memory from years gone by? Or do you have a tip on where to find a restaurant that serves baked Alaska for the reader who is craving it? Leave your comments below!
Jessica Webster leads the Food & Grocery section for AnnArbor.com, a part of the MLive Media Group. Reach her at JessicaWebster@annarbor.com. You also can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.
Comments
Chester Drawers
Wed, Jul 17, 2013 : 2:17 p.m.
Baked Alaska was one of those things I always thought looked better than it tasted.
justcurious
Wed, Jul 17, 2013 : 12:32 a.m.
Yes, the Lord Fox did indeed offer classic desserts like Baked Alaska, and it was superb. My brother-in-law ordered it back in the 90's when we dined there. Back in the 1950's that restaurant was called The Farm Cupboard and my mother sometimes helped out there. They were famous for fried chicken which was really a Sunday meal back then.
Ben Freed
Tue, Jul 16, 2013 : 7:35 p.m.
One of my favorite desserts growing up was a pie/casserole called a Johnny Appleseed that my mom made for special dinners. It was also one of the first dishes I ever learned to make myself. It was not a complicated dish, it had thinly sliced apples, cinnamon sugar, and chocolate chips, covered by a delicious crumble crust. Paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was a super treat on Friday night after Shabbat dinner! (Could also be made parve with parve chocolate chips and margarine in the crumble crust... no ice cream, but still superb)
onemoreminute
Tue, Jul 16, 2013 : 6:38 p.m.
Baked Alaska was the first "real" dessert I ever made. I was 12, and we had just moved from Ann Arbor to Toronto (see, I'm even tying into your memories!). Company was coming, and I got to make the dessert. Luckily, it turned out great, and I've been making it every once in a while since. I was just thinking about it again recently, thinking I should put one together. Maybe this will give me the incentive.
Hmm
Tue, Jul 16, 2013 : 4:35 p.m.
I wish you would have explained what is a Baked Alaska is, but that's ok I can google it. :)
Jessica Webster
Tue, Jul 16, 2013 : 5:17 p.m.
Ah, silly me. You're right. Because it was so central to my childhood food memories, I made an assumption that you (y'all) would know what baked Alaska was/is. Baked Alaska is ice cream and cake, covered in meringue, and either baked quickly at a very high temperature to set the meringue or browned with a propane torch. Some restaurants douse the meringue in alcohol and set it on fire for dramatic effect.
sandy schopbach
Tue, Jul 16, 2013 : 4:17 p.m.
My grandmother's peach (or cherry) shortbread. They were the size of a big biscuit, hard on the outside, a bit like a cake-ier shortbread cookie on the inside. Not too sweet, the hard exterior gradually softened by the juice from the fresh fruit spooned over it just before it was individually served. I loved it! The grandmother is long gone, the mother also, but I think I have this recipe in my files. Now I'm going to have to make it! P.S. This grandmother was from tidewater Virginia, and her clam chowder was to die for also (not thick and creamy but very flavorful and clam-ful).
Jeff Gaynor
Tue, Jul 16, 2013 : 3:21 p.m.
Unusual prelude to my comment. I am in South Africa on a 5 week study trip and have been taken by the fact that many historical events here mirror what was happening elsewhere in the world at about the same time. Ok, not unexpected, if you think about it, but some of the specifics caught me off guard. Now I find out that I was not the only one into Baked Alaska in the early 80's, having made it infrequently to not at all in the decades since. I still have found memories. But I do hope that your oma did not make it with one big half gallon block of ice cream.
Jessica Webster
Tue, Jul 16, 2013 : 3:46 p.m.
Jeff - she probably didn't make it with a big half gallon block of ice cream, but that's the memory I have. 5 weeks in South Africa? How exciting! That's on my bucket list.
Bertha Venation
Tue, Jul 16, 2013 : 3:42 p.m.
Sorry, Jeff.... that would be me (the block of ice cream). My apologies for bastardizing what could be a beautiful dessert! :)
Bertha Venation
Tue, Jul 16, 2013 : 3:20 p.m.
I make baked Alaska sometimes for special occasions, but not the fancy kind.