Faked Alaska at the Boathouse

[LittleDreamer]

During a recent trip I ended up having a large group (10+) so we decided to try the Baked Alaska. Baked Alaska is a bit of a mythical desert for us since of the "difficulty" in making it. For those that don't know Baked Alaska is traditionally a half sphere of ice cream and layered cake, covered in a meringue then baked or flamed to set and brown the meringue. I remembered they mentioned it during the Boathouse review on the DisUnplugged so that was what I was expecting.

First, the restaurant says that this feeds 4-6 but we thought it would easily feed 8. It took about 10 minutes to come out so that raised an eyebrow with us. When it comes to the table it is definitely a sight to behold, the desert stands about a foot tall, but presentation comes at the cost of functionality. User Poison Ivy posted a great picture of it in the Disney Food Pictures...Part V thread. We were told to lay it down before serving otherwise it had a tendency to slip and slide. If this was the case then why not serve it that way or use the traditional shape.

Once it did arrive we started to evaluate it. We noticed immediately that it was a different take on Baked Alaska. The desert was obviously prepared and kept chilled, allowed to thaw after ordering and garnished, hence the quick arrival. One thing you notice is that the top 1/3 of the desert is all marshmallow/meringue. This feels like your getting cheated out of ice cream that a rounder shape would of granted. The core was merely a rocky road ice cream (chocolate with marshmallows and nuts). The cake layers were replaced with a single thin graham cracker crust at the bottom. The desert is covered in marshmallows which were brushed over with a torch to brown them and pieces of a Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar were stuck in. As for the meringue I'm not really sure it is was there. Due to all the ice cream and marshmallow any meringue that might of been in the lower section didn't get to stand out. I should of tried a part of the upper 1/3 to check but i was too stuffed at this point.

So what did we think of this desert? As i mentioned before this is a different take on Baked Alaska, but most of us left feeling like we didn't have Baked Alaska. It was okay, but not worth the $40 price tag. Granted this desert can feed a large number so it could come out to be the cheapest one on the menu. Yet I feel like you could make something similar yourself on a much cheaper budget. The desert is called Gisbon's S'mores Baked Alaska. The desert definitely gave the S'mores taste but could of used more the cracker crust; a larger circumference or layering could easily provide this. The ice cream wasn't anything special, I think the Ben and Jerry's i had later in the week was actually better. I feel like if they made some changes it could be greatly improved but currently it is not something I would order again.

 

[OKW Lover]

For those that don't know Baked Alaska is traditionally a half sphere of ice cream and layered cake, covered in a meringue then baked or flamed to set and brown the meringue. I remembered they mentioned it during the Boathouse review on the DisUnplugged so that was what I was expecting.

Are you referring to the review done by @DisneyKevin on a podcast a month or two ago? I don't recall anything about Baked Alaska on that one.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

It is not a traditional Baked Alaska. Marshmallows, not merely...and there will be no flames. I take it the OP ordered it expecting the traditional dessert.

 

[minnie mum]

Given the name: Gibson's S'mores Baked Alaska, I wouldnt have expected the traditional dessert, but a variation on the Theme. Whether a given party likes any given dish will be highly variable. But to dislike something just because it isn't the same as the classic version, when it doesn't claim to be that?

I love S'mores, and I love Rocky Road. Looks like we'll have to give this a try on our next visit.

 

[handinpocket]

Thanks for your review OP. Some people appreciate knowing it is not a traditional Baked Alaska and not worth the price tag.

 

[ajwolfe]

I just happened to see a picture of this the other day and was showing my DH. Both of us were surprised it looked so basic and easy for the $40 price tag. I was curious if the taste made up for the fact that it wasn't a traditional baked Alaska, so I'm glad to see your review.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I think Faked Alaska would actually be a great, funny, accurate name for this. I can definitely understand the disappointment at paying $40 for what basically amounts to ice cream with marshmallow topping.

 

[LittleDreamer]

Given the name: Gibson's S'mores Baked Alaska, I wouldnt have expected the traditional dessert, but a variation on the Theme.

I said it was good, but I do not think it is worth the price. On the menu they didn't have a description implies that it is what is culturally known. Baked Alaska has texture to it that this was missing in this dish. The abundance of marshmallows also overpowered the meringue to the point were I couldn't tell if it was meringue or just marshmallow fluff. I would of actually called this desert closer to a bombe. S'mores Bombe sounds like a great name but it also sounds a lower class (Now at Chili's the S'mores Bombe an explosion of summer sweetness.) To be silly, it's like I ordered the Gibson Southwest Burger and ended up getting a taco.