Baked Alaska

Inspired by a project at work on coffee machines, I was in search of a coffee ice cream recipe when I stumbled across the Cook's Illustrated Baked Alaska recipe. Having recently seen this beautiful dessert made by the contestants on The Great British Baking Show, I couldn't help but give it a shot. The Cook's Illustrated version results in a half cylinder shape - I opted for a dome. Using a metal bowl to shape the ice cream and a round cake pan for the supporting layer of cake, I then created and applied the meringue, and then was shocked to see that you really can put this ice cream creation in a 500 degree oven to crisp the tips of the meringue while leaving the interior in tact. Delicious!

Bagels

Using the Cooks Illustrated New York Bagels recipe, I made, proofed, shaped, and boiled a yeast dough to create these deliciously soft fresh bagels.