These individual baked Alaskas have a perfect combination of creamy passion fruit cheesecake topped with ice cold chocolate sorbet all wrapped up in toasted hot meringue. There is more sorbet than needed for the baked Alaska recipe, but it makes a useful standby dessert.
FOR THE CRUMB BASES
120 g/4 oz. chocolate digestives/graham crackers
50 g/3½ tablespoons butter
FOR THE FILLING
2 sheets leaf gelatine
250 g/generous 1 cup mascarpone cheese
50 g/¼ cup caster/white sugar
80 ml/⅓ cup passion fruit pulp, strained (about 8 passion fruit)
125 ml/½ cup double/heavy cream
a few drops of orange food colouring (optional)
FOR THE SORBET
150 g/¾ cup granulated sugar
150 g/5½ oz. dark chocolate
60 g/⅔ cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
FOR THE MERINGUE
200 g/1 cup caster/superfine sugar
80 ml/⅓ cup light corn syrup (if unavailable, use golden syrup)
4 egg whites
8 x 6-cm/2½-inch chef’s rings
an ice cream machine (optional)
a sugar thermometer
a chef’s blow torch (optional)
MAKES 8
For the crumb bases, crush the biscuits/graham crackers to fine crumbs in a food processor or place in a clean plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin. Transfer the crumbs to a mixing bowl and stir in the melted butter. Place the chef’s rings on a baking sheet and divide the buttery crumbs between them, pressing them down firmly with the back of a spoon.
To make the filling, soak the gelatine leaves in water until they are soft.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and sugar until light and creamy, then whisk in the passion fruit juice.
Put the cream in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and warm gently. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves and add them to the warm cream, stirring until dissolved. Pass the cream through a sieve/strainer to remove any undissolved gelatine pieces, then whisk into the cheese mixture with a few drops of orange food colouring, if using. Pour the cheesecake mixture into the 8 chef’s rings and leave to set in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.
To prepare the sorbet, simmer the sugar with 500 ml/2 cups water in a saucepan until you have a thin syrup. Add the chocolate, cocoa, vanilla and salt to the pan and simmer until the chocolate has melted. Leave to cool completely, then churn in an ice cream machine until frozen. If you do not have an ice cream machine, transfer to a box, place in the freezer and whisk every 20 minutes to break up the ice crystals until frozen. Scoop 8 round balls of sorbet and store on a tray in the freezer until you are ready to serve. (Store any leftover sorbet in the freezer for another day.)
For the meringue, simmer the sugar and syrup together with 110 ml/⅓ cup water until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil and, using a sugar thermometer, heat the syrup to 115°C (242°F) or soft ball stage.
In a clean dry bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then add the hot sugar syrup in a small drizzle whisking continuously. Whisk for about 10–15 minutes until the meringue starts to cool.
When you are ready to serve, remove the cheesecakes from the rings by sliding a sharp knife around the edge of each. Place each on a heatproof serving plate and top with a scoop of sorbet. Working quickly, spread the meringue around each cheesecake using a pallet knife, then caramelize it with the chef’s blow torch or brown under a grill/broiler. Serve immediately!