Baked Alaska: the Dessert that actually traveled across the Atlantic!!
Baked Alaska: The Dessert That Isn’t From Alaska!
Here’s a delicious little piece of travel history you probably never knew…
Baked Alaska wasn’t invented in Alaska.
How do you put ice cream in a hot oven without melting it?
The secret is the meringue.
Earlier versions of this idea existed in Europe, but one of the most famous American versions came from Delmonico’s in New York City.
French-trained chef Charles Ranhofer created a spectacular dessert featuring cake, ice cream and toasted meringue.
And the name?
Ranhofer called his creation “Alaska, Florida.”
Why?
❄️ Alaska = cold
🔥 Florida = hot
A frozen center surrounded by a blazing-hot, golden exterior.
The timing was also intriguing. The United States had just purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, and Alaska was already becoming the subject of fascination, jokes and political commentary.
Eventually, the dessert became known as Baked Alaska—a name that stuck for more than a century.
And here's the part I love most…
You can eat something called Baked Alaska while traveling through Alaska, but its culinary history actually takes us to New York, France and 19th-century America.
Travel has a funny way of doing that.
What surprised me most about Baked Alaska is just how far this dessert traveled before becoming the name we know today! From a French “Norwegian omelet,” to New York’s “Alaska, Florida,” to the Baked Alaska we recognize today—this dessert has a more interesting travel history than some people!
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