Baked Alaska

6 egg whites
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
1 sponge layer cake
1 quart brick ice cream (hard)

Beat egg whites until foamy. Add salt, cream of tartar and vanilla. Beat until almost stiff enough to hold a peak. Gradually add saugar, beating until stiff enough to hold sharp peaks, but not dry. Cover wooden board with brown paper. Place cake on center of paper on board. Cake should be at least 1 inch wider and longer than ice cream. Turn ice cream out of container on center of cake. Cover ice cream and cake completely with meringue. With a spoon, swirl surface to make peaks. Bake in very hot oven of 500 degrees until light golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from paper and board and put on a cold tray of cake plate and serve at once.

While this is the way grandma had to make a Baked Alasaka, today's cooks have the advantage of obtaining little blow torches to use in the kitchen for just this purpose. You can build your dessert on individual dishes if you like and use the blow torch to brown the meringue.