Linda's Fantabulously Easy Baked Alaska

Individual portions are easy, fast, and make-ahead so all you have to do is bake them off! The secret to a good baked Alaska is keeping everything frozen. You can use any cake you like such as pound cake and any ice cream you like but the following is my favorite!

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 4 Alaska's

Ingredients

• 4  sponge cakes (dessert cups, that you find in the fruit section of the produce department when berries are in seaso)
• 1  quart  neopolitan ice cream
• 3  egg whites
• 1⁄4 teaspoon vanilla extract (or almond)
• 1⁄8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2  tablespoons  superfine sugar
• 1  cup  sliced fresh strawberries (or other berries)
• 4  tablespoons  almonds, sliced and toasted

Directions

1. Put a parchment lined baking sheet in your freezer.
2. Divide ice cream evenly on dessert cups so you have a big mound and put them on the baking sheet, freezing hard.
3. Meanwhile, with your balloon attachment, beat egg whites until a little foamy and add the extract and cream of tartar. Continue beating until soft peaks form.
4. Slowly add the superfine sugar and one packet of Splenda ( sorry, the recipe wizard would not let me add one packet of Splenda to the ingredient list -- if you don't have Splenda don't add any other artificial sweetener, just omit from the recipe).
5. After adding the last of the sugar increase the speed of the mixer to full blast and turn off when stiff peaks form. Be careful not to beat the whites so hard that they separate.
6. Divide the meringue evenly over the ice cream and 'frost' the Alaska's or pipe the meringue on decoratively using a large star tip. Be sure to let the meringue cover all of the ice cream and cake. You want them 'air tight'.
7. Freeze everything until you are ready to serve.
8. On serving day preheat the oven to 450°F When the oven is hot pop your tray of Alaska's into the oven until the meringue is golden brown, just a few minutes. Don't take your eyes off of them or the meringue may burn too much. You can also use a brulee torch to give the meringue some color.
9. Serve with some fresh sliced strawberries sprinkled with toasted almonds along side the Alaska.
10. This is so easy to make and I hope you enjoy it.