Photo © New York Times

Baked Alaska invented

Description

The dessert known as Baked Alaska, a cake and ice cream covered in toasted meringue, traces its origins to an 18th-century discovery by scientist Sir Benjamin Thompson, who found that whipped egg whites insulate well due to air bubbles. By the 1830s, French chefs had adapted this concept into the “Omelette Norwegge,” a cake-and-ice-cream treat covered in meringue and broiled.

Introduced, 1867

Delmonico's chef Charles Ranhofer created the dessert “Alaska, Florida”. After the U.S. purchased Alaska in 1867, this dessert was rebranded as “Baked Alaska,” aligning with the new American territory’s name. Inspired by the French "Omelette Norwegge," he combined banana ice cream, walnut spice cake, and meringue, torched to a golden brown. This luxurious treat embodied Gilded Age opulence, costing what would be around $40 today. Though English journalist George Augustus Henry Sala mistakenly described the meringue as whipped cream, the dessert has remained popular at Delmonico's, attracting approximately 36,000 diners annually.

Map View