Baked Alaska (Omelette Norvégienne) melt-in-mouth and rich

Preparing the vanilla ice cream

This step should be done at least one day before the rest of the recipe.

Buy 2.1 cups (500 ml) of good traditional vanilla ice cream. Unmould it into a bowl, leave it for 30 minutes at room temperature, then whisk it until it reaches the consistency of thick cream.

Pour it into the loaf tin that you'll use for the rest of the recipe, then place in the freezer.

Once the ice cream is firm again, unmould it, retrieve your loaf tin, and keep the ice cream in the freezer until assembly day.

Assembly day: preparing the sponge cake

3.2 oz (90 g) caster sugar + 1 packet vanilla sugar

3 egg yolks

3.5 oz (100 g) sifted flour

1.1 oz (30 g) just-melted butter

3 egg whites

1 Preheat your oven to 390°F (200 °C) (gas mark 6-7).

2 Put your 3 egg yolks in a bowl, then add your caster sugar and vanilla sugar, then whisk this mixture until « blanched ».

3 When the mixture is cream-coloured, pour the flour in a stream, stir, then add the melted butter.

4 Whip your egg whites until stiff peaks form. Vigorously mix 3 spoonfuls of the whites into your previous mixture to loosen it, then gently fold in the remaining whites with a spatula.

5 Pour into a loaf tin (non-stick or silicone), the same one used for the ice cream, and bake for 30 minutes.

6 Unmould while hot and set aside to cool.

Now you have your sponge cake ready and your ice cream in the freezer, all that's left is to make your meringue.

Preparing the meringue

Whip 4 egg whites until stiff peaks form, gradually adding 5.75 oz (160 g) of caster sugar. Once it's very firm, stiff peaks, gently fold in the 2 yolks and set aside. Be careful, your whites must be firm enough to create the omelette decoration.

Prepare a light syrup

Pour 3.5 oz (100 g) of sugar and 0.4 cup (10 cl) of water into a saucepan, bring to the boil for 3 minutes and let cool. You can flavour it with Grand-Marnier, cognac or other liqueur, or leave it plain.

Finishing everything: assembly

7 Cut your sponge cake in half horizontally. Lay these two halves in front of you, then use a pastry brush to soak both cake layers well with your syrup, then place them on small boards or cardboard bases, which makes transport easier.

8 Take out your ice cream and cut it in half horizontally, using an electric knife if you have one. Place one ice cream half on each sponge layer and return to the freezer for 15 minutes.

9 Pour your meringue into a piping bag with a nozzle.