Baked Vesuvius
Hot and cold come together in this volcanic variation on a Baked Alaska, with spiced dark chocolate cake, a mango sorbet core, chocolate ice cream, and toasted meringue.
An 8” cake may not sound like a lot, but trust me, this recipe is massive. What can I say, I’ve never been good at this “moderation” thing. Do yourself (and all your friends) a favor and invite some ice cream fanatics in from the heat to help you eat this literal mountain.
Servings: 12 | Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes
8” cake pan
Parchment paper
Cake strips / Paper towel wrapped in aluminum foil
Sifter / Fine-mesh sieve
Wire cooling rack
Cake leveler
Plastic wrap
Small saucepan
Glass jars
8” diameter bowl
Heat-safe bowl / Double boiler
Hand-mixer / stand-mixer
Cake board
Offset spatula
Blowtorch
Spiced Dark Chocolate Cake:
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp Dutch-process black cocoa powder
¼ cup cocoa powder
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
1 to 2 tsp cinnamon, to taste
½ tsp salt
¼ to ½ tsp cayenne, to taste
3 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup butter, melted
1 ½ tsp vanilla
½ cup hot coffee
Fudge Topping:
½ cup butter
⅓ cup cocoa powder
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp vanilla
Ice Cream Dome:
1 pint mango sorbet
1 gallon chocolate ice cream
1 cup crushed chocolate cookies
Ash Meringue:
6 egg whites, room temp
½ tsp cream of tartar
1 cup caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla
1 tsp Dutch-process black cocoa powder
1 tsp boiling water
Spiced Dark Chocolate Cake (15 minutes + 40 minutes baking)
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Grease an 8” cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Wrap a damp cake strip (or wet paper towel wrapped in aluminum foil) around the outside of the pan to ensure a flat top. Set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powders, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne.
Add the egg, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
Whisk in the coffee until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and run a knife around the sides of the cake to loosen.
With oven mitts on, carefully flip the cake pan onto a wire cooling rack and remove pan.
Remove the parchment paper from the cake and let cool completely.
Using a cake leveler, remove the rounded top of the cake so both the top and bottom are completely flat.
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Fudge Topping (10 minutes)
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until liquid.
Whisk in the cocoa powder.
Add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla and whisk together.
Once the mixture starts to bubble, remove from the heat, and let cool a few minutes before transferring to a glass jar.
Let cool completely.
Ice Cream Dome (20 minutes)
Take the sorbet out of the freezer and set on the counter to soften up.
Line the inside of a tall glass jar with plastic wrap. The jar should be at least as deep as the center of your 8” bowl.
Fill the jar with the mango sorbet, pressing it down to the bottom as you go so there are no big air pockets.
Fill until it is about even with the rim of the bowl, cover the top with plastic wrap, and transfer to the freezer for a few hours until it is firm.
Once the mango sorbet is firm, take the chocolate ice cream out of the freezer and set on the counter to soften up for a few minutes.
In a large bowl, fold the chocolate ice cream, crushed chocolate cookies, and fudge topping together until toppings are evenly distributed.
Take the mango sorbet out of the freezer and remove from the jar (you may need to run the sides of the jar under some warm water to get it to loosen).
Remove the plastic wrap and place the mango core vertically in the center of the 8” bowl.
Keeping the mango core upright with one hand, fill the rest of the bowl with the chocolate ice cream, compressing it as you go so there are no air pockets.
Once the bowl is full all the way to the top, cover with plastic wrap and return to the freezer for a few hours or overnight, until completely firm.
Ash Meringue (15 minutes)
In a heat-safe bowl or the top of a double boiler, whisk the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar together.
Bring a saucepan with a couple inches of water to a bare simmer on the stove.
Place the bowl with the egg white mixture on top of the saucepan and whisk constantly until the mixture is no longer grainy or reaches 160° F on a thermometer.
Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on medium-high speed until the meringue is stiff and the bowl is no longer warm, about 5 to 10 minutes.
While the meringue is whipping, combine the Dutch-process cocoa powder and hot water together in a small bowl, whisking together. Set aside until cool, about 5 minutes.
With the mixer on low, gradually add the vanilla and the cocoa powder mixture and continue to mix until well combined.
Assembly (15 minutes)
Working quickly, remove the plastic wrap from the top of the ice cream bowl.
Remove the chocolate cake from its plastic wrap and place upside down onto the ice cream.
Place a cake board upside down onto the bottom of the cake and carefully flip everything over and place onto a serving platter.
Remove the bowl and peel off the plastic wrap from the ice cream dome.
Using an offset spatula, cover the entire cake with the meringue.
Add some swirls to the surface of the meringue with the back of your spatula.
Using a blowtorch, carefully toast the outside of the meringue until evenly browned.
Serve immediately. To slice the cake, use a sharp knife that has been heated under hot running water. Leftovers should be stored in the freezer.
Enjoy!
Be sure to check out my Best Practices page for tips on how to make this recipe yourself. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and feel free to tag me on Instagram @made.by.shade if you make it!
-Shade