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Mini baked alaska
Make the brownie base for these single-serving treats a day ahead, then top with ice cream and meringue before portion.
Photo by Belinda Smith-Sullivan
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Testing for cake doneness
The surest way to know that your cakes are baking to perfection is to use the right equipment. See tip below.
Photo by Belinda Smith-Sullivan
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Making your own vanilla extract
Save money and have plenty of pure vanilla extract on hand for your baking projects. See tip below.
Photo by Belinda Smith-Sullivan
SERVES 8–10
BROWNIE
1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
¾ cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
FILLING AND MERINGUE
3 egg whites, room temperature
Pinch of salt
½ cup sugar
½ gallon strawberry ice cream, slightly melted
For the brownie, preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the oil, eggs and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix just until combined; add nuts. Spread into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with nuts if desired. Bake 20–25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool.
To make meringue, in a bowl place the egg whites and a pinch of salt. Using a mixer, beat the whites until frothy. Begin adding ½ cup of sugar, a little at a time, as you beat the whites. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate.
To assemble, cut brownies to fit the size and shape of individual serving dishes. Mound a scoop of ice cream on top of each brownie. Place the dishes on a cookie sheet, and put them in the freezer so the ice cream can harden. When ready to serve, cover ice cream with meringue, and brown meringue with a butane torch. (You can also brown meringue by preheating oven to 500 F and baking until tops brown, about 2–3 minutes. Watch closely or they will burn.) At this point, you can return them to the freezer; before serving, let soften for 10 minutes.
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How to ensure cake doneness: Two small investments worth making, especially for avid bakers, are an oven thermometer and a cake tester. Unless you have your oven calibrated on a regular basis, you have no way of knowing if the 350 F reading is accurate. Baking at the wrong temperature has a direct effect on the cooking time. A small oven thermometer will help correct for inaccuracies. Cake testers have a longer reach than toothpicks when checking that the centers of your baked goods are fully cooked, and they clean up easily.
How to make your own vanilla extract. Vanilla extract can be costly, especially if you bake often. Make your own by placing 8–10 vanilla beans in a quart jar with a clamp stopper and pouring a fifth of inexpensive vodka (25 ounces) in the jar. Secure the stopper; place in your pantry and shake weekly. In two months, you’ll have enough vanilla extract for a year’s worth of baking projects. Or, divide it into smaller, decorative bottles and share as gifts. You can save a bit of money by buying the vanilla beans online, rather than in supermarkets.