Strawberry and Hazelnut Baked Alaska

As it is nearly summer I thought it was about time to start making some ice cream. This dessert has a centre of homemade strawberry ice cream with chunks of strawberry, on a hazelnut joconde sponge base and coated in a toasted swiss meringue.

I'm not sure there is much to say other than that this is perfection. The ice cream has a strong strawberry flavour thanks to some strawberry milkshake powder (I have been perfecting this over the last couple of months!) and sits on a light sponge base that offers a subtle earthy flavour. The meringue coating was the optimum thickness to add a delicious added extra without being overly sweet and sickly. I would say this is a great bake.