My wife's birthday is next month and I was thinking about a low carb treat that I could make so we both could enjoy it. While she loves my Decadent Pecan Pie, with just the 2 of us, the pie would be too much. She also likes the 3 minute chocolate cake which, by the way really rocks. While the cake by itself would be ok, I decided to fancy it up a bit and will use it for the base of a Baked Alaska.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that I have not made this yet. However, I have made the individual components and have prepared this recipe in my mind simply by putting those components together. This is what I will do:

1. First, I will line a 1 cup measuring cup with plastic wrap and fill it with slightly softened low carb vanilla icecream and then freeze it solid. (The measuring cup is the right diameter so that the icecream will fit on top of the cake. This will also allow portion control of the icecream)

2. I will prepare a 3 Minute Chocolate Cake (the recipe is in the recipe section) and refrigerate it.

3. I will prepare a stiff 2 egg white meringue using the equivalent amount of powered egg whites and water, 4 Tbls of granular artificial sweetner, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla. (After years of eating uncooked egg products, my wife has decided she will not do that anymore, so consequently, I will use the powered egg whites instead.)

4. When ready to prepare, I will line a small baking sheet with foil, put the cake in the center; remove the icecream from the cup and place it on top of the cake, cover the icecream and cake with the meringue, making sure to seal the edges; bake in a preheated 450 degree oven until the meringue is lightly browned (1-2 minutes).

5. Cut the Baked Alaska in half and place cut side down on serving plates, drizzle with some Splenda sweetened chocolate hazelnut syrup and serve.

OK, WHEN is her birthday, and if I bring the candles, can I have some Baked Alaska?!

Truly, I'm salivating over that description, Henry! I can see all KINDS of flavor possibilities too - choc cake, coffee ice cream; spice cake, butter pecan ice cream; strawberry cake, strawberry ice cream! Oh the possibilities are endless....

THANKS!

Char

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Veni, vidi, velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.

Save the Earth - it's the only planet with CHOCOLATE!

Henry, that, indeed, will be VERY special. You are so creative in the kitchen. I just love reading what you eat and prepare. I will have to try this recipe on a special ocassion as well! Thanks for sharing your creativity!

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196/135-135

coffee icecream? *ears perked*

hmmmm sounds yummy... and while i have never had a baked alaska .. i have ALWAYS looked at pictures of them in cookbooks my whole life and WANTED to try one... but i dont like icecream all that much... hardly at all...

but COFFEE icecream.... hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

i'll be coming over too!

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Ok, Henry. It sounds as if you and your DW will have a full house at her birthday celebration!

That sounds like a really special treat!

Happy Birthday to your DW!

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Another one for my LC Cookbook! Thanks, Henry . . . and have a very special birthday celebration with your dear wife!

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Alida
5'1" ~ 59 years old
Highest weight: 165
Atkins 7/10/2004
160/126/125
RE-DO, January 2008:
167/162/135

Henry, one word: YUM!! :cook:

I have two thoughts on your proposed recipe...

Maybe you already thought of this, but I didn't read it in your recipe. If your measuring cup has slanted sides, the ice cream won't fit on top of the cake unless you turn the cake upside down, putting the 2 broad sides together. That would give your baked alaska a kind of a barrel shape, which might be cute. If you have a small, straight-sided bowl or glass, that would give you a more traditional cylinder shaped cake.

I have not tried this myself... So, fwiw, last week, an engineer (DH's boss) gave me a tip about meringue toppings. Back when he owned a cafe, he got really frustrated trying to nicely brown the tops of his lemon meringue pies. So, he started using a blow torch to brown the meringue! It made my eyes pop, but he swears it worked fine.

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

I've been using a little propane torch one for years. They work just fine for several applications.

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Maggie, don't those little torches ROCK?! Do you think a kitchen torch would work for browning the meringue?

Mine is a little butane torch I got at Williams-Sonoma years ago. Its self-igniter doesn't work any more so I have to light it off of a kitchen burner or match.

A friend borrowed my torch to brown the cheese topping on her French onion soup, (the broiler was busy cooking other dishes). I thought she came up with a clever idea.

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Teel, I have several sets of measuring cups. The one I was planning on using has straight sides. More importantly, it was the right diameter at the top. I was not worried about the shape since I was not planning on doing one of my volcano presentations on the baked Alaska because this version would be so small (that is where I embed a half of an egg shell in the top of the meringue and when ready for presentation put some grain alcohol or 151 rum in it to flambe so it looks like fire coming out of the top of a volcano. It makes for a neat effect if you dim the lights in the dining room). I do the volcano version when I fix one for company and use a bowl as the mold for the icecream to fit on the top of a 9" round cake so the overall shape is a dome. The last full size low carb one I did, I used a low carb brownie as the base and then layered low carb chocolate and mint icecreams in the bowl.

Henry, I love that presentation! What a great idea that egg shell is!

Teel, I'm not sure about a real little torch, since I'm not sure about how small it is. The one I have is about 3 inches in diameter and about maybe 11 inches long. It's the same one I use to sweat a pipe.

But I found it works nicely as a browner, too.

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Oh, WOW! A VOLCANO!!!

Henry, you are an artiste ~and~ an adventurer in the kitchen!

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

...drooling...

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271/214/150

That sound sooooo awesome! Can we have your recipe for the pecan pie also?!!

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271/214/150

Rhonda, here is the recipe. I originally posted it in the "What's your favorite LC Recipe" thread.

Decadent Pecan Praline Pie (10?)
Crust:
2 cups pecan meal
2 Tbls Splenda
1 tsp cinnamon
? tsp salt
5 Tbls butter (melted)
1 egg white, beaten until frothy
Pecans:
2 cups pecan halves
4 Tbls butter (melted)
? tsp carmel extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbls Splenda
1 tsp cinnamon
Filling:
1 12oz bottle Steel?s or Joseph?s low carb maple syrup
? cup Splenda
3 Tbls butter (melted)
2 tsp vanilla
5 eggs plus 1 yolk, beaten
? tsp xanthan gum

1. Prepare nuts by melting butter in a microwaveable bowl, add Splenda and stir to dissolve. Add carmel extract, vanilla, and cinnamon, stirring after adding each. Add pecans, stir to coat. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and microwave for another 30 seconds, making sure that they do not burn. Set aside to cool.
2. Prepare crust by mixing pecan meal, Splenda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in melted butter and blend well. Add beaten egg white and stir well to combine. Pour mixture into a 10 inch pie pan and press evenly around bottom and sides. Place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Let cool while preparing the filling.
3. Prepare the filling by beating the eggs. Add Splenda and beat until combined. Using a stick blender or other blender, add xanthan gum to egg mixture and blend until well mixed. (egg mixture should thicken because of the xanthan gum. Add butter, vanilla and syrup and blend until all ingredients are well combined.
4. Prepare the pie by spreading the cooled pecans around the bottom of the baked crust, reserving some for the top. Gently pour the filling over the pecans. Place the reserved pecans on top of the filling for decoration. Bake at 350 degrees for about 60-80 minutes, or until top is fully puffed and firm to touch.

44 carbs per pie, 3.5 carbs per 1/12 piece of pie.

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Henry