Fennel honey ricotta baked Alaska

Fennel blossom ricotta and honey ice cream baked Alaska with almond sponge

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 6

5 egg yolks
250 ml double cream
300 ml whole milk
250 grams ricotta
150 ml runny honey
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp fennel blossom (plus more to your taste) (alternatively use ground fennel seeds)
1/2 tsp ground fennel seeds
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

In a sauce pan whisk together the egg yolks with the honey and sugar, then mix in the milk, cream and ricotta. add the fennel pollen and ground fennel seeds and vanilla.
stir constantly over a medium heat until it thickens and becomes like custard.
Pour through a sieve to remove any bits of fennel seeds . Place a layer of plastic wrap over the custard and let cool, chill over night in the fridge. or use the pre chill function on an ice cream machine. Pour into ice cream machine to churn, then pour into a small bowl or mould lined with cling film and freeze.

Preheat the oven to 160c and grease and line a small cake tin that is the same size as the bowl you used for your ice cream. separate the eggs, Add the egg whites in to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk attachment and start mixing at a medium speed. once it starts to thicken add the sugar a little at a time reserving 3 tbsp. Turn up the speed and beat for a few minutes until stiff peaks form and you have a meringue like mixture. In another bowl, mix the yolks, the 3 tbsp sugar, salt, vanilla and the almonds, take a 1/4 of the meringue mixture and mix into it to loosed it, then add the yolk mixture to the meringue a 1/3 at a time and gently fold in. pour into cake tin, (i had enough to fill two tins so i saved the extra sponge for something else.) bake for 25/30 minutes
let cool.

Add the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and start whipping, once the mixture is bubbly and pale add the sugar a little at a time then turn up to high speed and whip for 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form.
place ice cream on top of cake , then spread over the meringue so there are no gaps.
now blow touch it or bake in a preheated oven at 180c for 5 minutes. serve immediately.

Keyword Baked alaska, fennel blossom ice cream