This recipe celebrates one of the first — and sweetest — harbingers of spring: local strawberries. Sure, the supermarket offers strawberries all year ‘round, but the gems that are grown locally and show up in season boast way more flavor than their cousins from the other side of the world. What you’re looking for is a bright red color from stem to tip.
>> Recipe: Strawberries Baked Alaska
These local heroes are perfect even if you eat them raw, but here I’ve gussied them up quite a bit with some borrowings from an old-fashioned dessert called Baked Alaska, the basics of which are spongecake and ice cream frosted with a thick layer of meringue and briefly set under the broiler. A generation ago, Baked Alaska was as much showbiz as it was dessert, doused in alcohol and set aflame just before your cruise-ship waiter paraded it through the dining room on a platter and landed it on your table with a flourish.
I’ve kept the ice cream, swapped out the cake for the crushed cookie of your choice (I chose gingersnaps because I love the way ginger plays with fruit), added strawberries to the mix and finished it with the key ingredient: meringue, aka beaten egg whites and sugar.
A few notes about making a successful stiff meringue: first, the fresher the egg whites, the better; fresh egg whites produce more volume. Second, let the whites come to room temperature before beating. (If you’re in a rush, just set the metal bowl in a larger bowl of hot water, which will warm it up quickly.) Third, be sure to beat the whites in a small clean bowl, preferably stainless steel (which is easy to get very clean), because any kind of fat will deflate them. Finally, add the sugar slowly in a steady stream. After all the sugar is added, keep beating until the peaks are stiff.
This is a relatively simple (and thoroughly scrumptious) dessert to make, not least because we have dispensed with the pyrotechnics. I promise your guests will be wowed without them.