Hey everybody!
I’m planning to make individual baked alaska, so I need suggestions for the “base”. What cakes can you eat frozen? I know that a genoise and flourless chocolate cakes are generally considered, but are there any other suggestions?
Brownies? Cookies?
Rice krispie treats? Actually I do have some marshmallows and rice krispies so it would be great if I could use them..

A cake without butter is generally used, so that it remains soft annd pleasant to eat when frozen.  The deep choc passion/ ice cream cake from RHC makes a splendid cake for frozen applications, as does the almond biscuit roulade from TCB.  Plain biscuit roulade would also be fine, I just like the almond for its flavor and moister texture when syup will not be used.  The pecan sponge cake from RHC (Sybil’s cake) can be baked in a half sheet pan and would also work well.  Any chiffon cake would be great.  Even the Jansci sponge cake from RHC would probably work, though I haven’t yet baked this in a sheet pan. 

Genoise, brownies, cookies and flourless chocolate cake all normally contain butter, so they wouldn’t be my first choice for a frozen cake.

Hi McBrownie,

McBrownie - 14 March 2013 01:31 AM

Hey everybody!
What cakes can you eat frozen? I know that a genoise and flourless chocolate cakes are generally considered, but are there any other suggestions?

Angel food cakes and oil based cakes like chiffon cakes usually work well…..Rose uses her German Chocolate (oil based) cake in the ice cream cake recipe in RHC.

I haven’t had much luck finding a brownie or cookie that works well frozen…..the ones I’ve tried have remained icy/cold and quite tasteless. Hopefully others on the forum have more suggestions for you.

Edit: Just saw Julie’s reply…..

Thank you both!
I thought about making the ice cream cake, but was wondering whether i could bake it in a 1/4 sheet pan [or two. half sheet pans don’t fit in my oven!]. It would go great with my coffee ice cream! i would think it be easier for cakes to be baked in sheet pans rather than tall round pans, so the conversion shouldn’t be a problem, isn’t it?

Actually, I have made numerous brownies and cookies that work really well from frozen. Think ice cream sandwiches!
Meringue is really good frozen, as some brownie recipes.. My only worry was that when sitting in the freezer, the moisture from the ice cream could ruin the texture somehow. And Also, Brownies [at least the ones i tried] are really rich and potent, especially when frozen, so serving them with ice cream and meringue could be really overwhelming.. That’s why I thought maybe some other brownie recipes could be good.

The thing is, freezing numbs the flavor, so, let’s say, the cookie, needs to be really sweet. And the texture is indeed important, so usually a chewy cookie works best. I know that Alexis Stewart’s chocolate-chip-cookie recipe tastes really good frozen., but, once again, the moisture scares me.

You have to freeze cakes for Baked Alaska?

Not necessarily; In my case the cakes will be going to the freezer. because I am making individual ones in advanced.

McBrownie - 14 March 2013 09:19 AM

My only worry was that when sitting in the freezer, the moisture from the ice cream could ruin the texture somehow.

This would suggest a sponge cake like the RHC deep chococlate passion or biscuit roulade.  They are both cakes that can be syruped and so should do well absorbing any extra moisture from the ice cream.  Chiffon can also be syruped, I just happen to like the texture of the other two better with syrup.  Genoise would also work if you use nut oil instead of butter. 

re: baking the deep chocolate passion in a sheet pan, I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work.  Has anyone tried this?  Hector maybe?

karin - 15 March 2013 01:56 AM

You have to freeze cakes for Baked Alaska?

My understanding of baked alaska is that you make an ice cream cake, then freeze it completely solid before frosting with meringue and broiling.  That way, it is less likely to melt when it hits the oven.