What burns bright and cold at the same time? The baked Alaska—a dessert of toasty meringue shielding ice cream and cake from open flame—of course. And right now, the dish is having a moment.
Until recently, like a hot pink Motorola Razr or a Juicy Couture tracksuit phase, the baked Alaska was one of those things people remembered vividly, but couldn’t quite explain. But perhaps it’s no surprise that a dish once synonymous with the brash grandeur of the Gilded Age has found new resonance in an era of gold-dusted, caviar-studded soft serve, and martinis priced like entrées.
The original baked Alaska dates to 1876, when chef Charles Ranhofer of Delmonico’s in New York City served a version made with banana ice cream and walnut spice cake he initially dubbed Alaska, Florida. It was likely inspired by the French omelette Norvégienne—ice cream and sponge cake sealed in meringue—and named to commemorate the U.S. acquisition of Alaska.
For decades, the frosty confection mostly lingered on the menus of white-tablecloth institutions. “It was the Champagne of desserts,” says Laura Shapiro, author of What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories, referring to the dish’s rarefied air. Until the 1940s, you were far more likely to order an Alaska at a steakhouse than make one at home. But the advent of electric broilers, boxed cake mixes, and vertical freezers in the 1950s helped it cross into home kitchens. During this mid-century boom, it became a host’s ultimate dinner party sendoff.
By the late 1970s, the Alaska’s popularity waned as tastes grew sleeker, dresses less frumpy. But over the last few years, it’s returned as chefs and bakers embrace its zany drama. It’s reappeared on Mad Men, been dubbed the “ultimate gay food,” and even a nun’s secret to longevity. Today, a new generation of chefs is whipping up seasonally informed and culturally inflected variations, transforming the oddity into a full-fledged dessert genre.
One of the most recognizable versions is the storied baked Alaska at the 146-year-old Gage & Tollner in Brooklyn, created by the restaurant’s former pastry chef, Caroline Schiff. While the restaurant had never served the Victorian-era dessert, Schiff unveiled this knockout in 2018: billowy swirls of meringue encasing Amarena cherry, fresh mint, and dark chocolate ice cream over chocolate cookie crumbs. The $24 dessert is meant for two, but can easily serve four. “Things come in and out of fashion,” Schiff said. “I’m seeing Gen Z kids wearing clothes I wore in high school. It’s kind of the same thing.”