This Mint Chocolate Chip Baked Alaska is a mint syrup-soaked chocolate cake and creamy mint chocolate chip ice cream encased in a fluffy, toasted meringue. I made these in honor of St. Patrick’s Day! I love a dessert for St. Patrick’s that isn’t 'in your face’ green, but more of a subtle nod to the holiday.
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In creating a mint chocolate chip ice cream for these, I wanted to replicate the creaminess of a Blue Bell ice cream with the ‘meltability’ of the chocolate bits in Ben & Jerry’s. To achieve this, I used heavy cream in the custard base, and dark chocolate melting wafers for the ‘chip’ of the mint chocolate chip.
It has been a hot minute since I created my Mocha Baked Alaska recipe, which was the base for this recipe. I have been hankering for a homemade ice cream, like my Oat-of-This-Swirled Copycat Ice Cream, so it was definitely time to create a new one.
Ingredients
Use a combination of fresh leaves and extract to achieve the perfect mint flavor.
- half and half (or heavy cream + whole milk)
- granulated sugar
- kosher salt
- eggs
- mint extract
- vanilla extract
- green food coloring (not pictured)
- heavy cream
- self-rising flour
- cocoa powder
- fresh mint
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Here’s how to assemble baked alaska:
Fill molds ¾ full with the mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Top the ice cream with a disk of chocolate cake. Freeze solid.
Pipe meringue around the outside of the ice cream and cake.
Toast with a torch and garnish with mint, if desired.
Good to know: You can substitute self-rising flour for the same amount of all-purpose flour, but add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and an additional pinch of salt.
Substitutions
Here are some easy ingredient swaps if you want to make these faster and easier:
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- Cake mix — use a chocolate cake mix instead of baking your own from scratch
- Store-bought ice cream — use store-bought mint chocolate chip ice cream
- Marshmallow fluff — use store-bought marshmallow fluff to cover the ice cream and cake instead of making your own
Variations
Here’s how to customize these baked alaskas to your liking:
- Brownie base — use a brownie bottom instead of cake for fudgier dessert
- No chocolate wafers — use a chopped chocolate bar or melt chocolate chips and stream the melted chocolate in while churning to create a stracciatella-style mint chip ice cream
- Spiky meringue — use the back of a spoon to spike the meringue before torching
- Chocolate simple syrup — replace the mint with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder in the simple syrup recipe
Do you have any other variation suggestions? Let me know in the comments!
Equipment
I made the chocolate cake base in a 9x13 baking pan lined with parchment paper, but you could also use a half or quarter size sheet pan.
I love making homemade ice cream with my Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker attachment! It is a bowl that you keep in the freezer and it comes with a paddle that is attached to the top of the mixer.
I used the largest of this set of semicircle silicon molds. A large cookie scoop made portioning the ice cream for the molds easy.
For piping the meringue, I used large piping bags and a Wilton 1A tip.
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks until ready to serve.
Top tip
Pipe the meringue at an angle, rather than head on, to achieve the bubbly lines up the sides.
Lastly, if you make these Mint Chocolate Chip Baked Alaska be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating. I love to see when people make my recipes, so please tag me @youthsweets on Instagram if you post!
📖 Recipe
Mint Chocolate Chip Baked Alaska
Equipment
Ingredients
Mint chocolate chip ice cream
- 2 cups half and half cream or 1 cup heavy cream plus 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar (220g)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 ½ teaspoon mint extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Few drops green food coloring
- 1 cup heavy cream
Mint chocolate bits
- 1 cup dark chocolate melting wafers
- 2 tablespoon fresh mint leaves washed and dried thoroughly
Chocolate sponge cake layer
- 4 large eggs
- 100 g granulated sugar (4 oz)
- 65 g self-rising flour* (2 ½ oz) see notes for substitution
- 40 g cocoa powder (1 ½ oz) I prefer dutch process
- Pinch salt
Mint simple syrup
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (75g)
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 small bunch fresh mint
Meringue
- 1 batch recipe from serious eats
Instructions
Start the ice cream
- Combine half and half, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Whisk thoroughly to dissolve sugar granules.
- In a small heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks and slowly stream in about ½ cup of the warm half and half mixture into the egg yolks. Then add that mixture to the half and half in the medium saucepan.
- Return to the stove and whisk continuously while cooking on medium low heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (or reaches 170°F on an instant-read thermometer). Add in the vanilla, mint extract and green food coloring and whisk to combine.
- Place the heavy cream into a bowl with a fine mesh strainer on top of the bowl. Pour the warm custard into the bowl through the strainer. Discard any solids. Stir to combine.
- Cover and chill in the fridge until completely cool. If you’re in a hurry you can transfer the mixture to a plastic bag and set it inside a large bowl with ice. You want the custard to be thoroughly chilled before you put it in the ice cream maker.
- At this point, you can start your cake while the custard is chilling.
Make the chocolate sponge layer
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
- Beat eggs and sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment until light and fluffy and your beaters leave a trail when pulled up.
- Sift in flour, cocoa and salt. Gently fold in the sifted ingredients.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until you see the sponge begin to pull away from the edges of the pan.
- When the cake is done, invert it and peel off the parchment from baking to cool while making the simple syrup.
Make the simple syrup
- Combine water, sugar and mint in a small saucepan over medium heat. Warm over medium-low heat until all of the sugar granules are dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Strain the mint out and spoon the syrup evenly over the cake. Leave the cake to cool completely.
Make the mint chocolate bits
- Melt the wafers according to package instructions. Pour half of the chocolate on a piece of parchment or wax paper. Working quickly, press the mint leaves in a single layer on the still melted chocolate.
- Cover the mint leaves with the remaining melted chocolate. Let cool completely.
- Roughly chop once cooled. Set aside.
Finish the ice cream
- Once cooled, pour the custard into your ice cream maker and churn it according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- I used the Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker Attachment and it took about 30 minutes to churn on the lowest setting. When finished, add the chopped mint chocolate bits and churn again just until mixed through.
- Next, using a large cookie scoop or spoon, fill the bottoms of silicon molds ¾ full. I used the largest of this set, which is a half circle with about a 3-inch diameter.
- Punch out 3 inch circles of the cooled chocolate sponge cake and place a circle in the mold to cover the ice cream.
- Set the mold in the freezer to completely set, at least four hours or overnight. Leave them in the freezer until your meringue is ready. Make the meringue according to Serious Eats’ instructions.
Assemble
- Working one at a time, pop out a frozen ice cream and cake disk and set it on a serving plate. Cover with meringue. I piped mine with a large round tip, but you can also spoon it on and make a spiky design by tapping and pulling away with the back of a spoon.
- Then, freeze completely until serving. When ready to serve, toast the meringue with a kitchen torch or flambe the entire thing using alcohol. Here’s how to do it. Make sure to roll up your sleeves, tie back your hair and have a fire extinguisher nearby! Serve immediately.
