After eight long, dramatic and highly entertaining weeks my close friend Alaska finished what she started in season 5 – aka All Stars 2, the prequel – and finally snatched the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars crown and earn her place in the Drag Race Hall of Fame, playing rubik’s cube with Chad Michaels. Beating out my other dear friends Katya, Detox and Roxxxy.

So yes, Alaska’s tantrums over the final two episodes were pretty dislikable. Nay, really dislikable, but at the end of the day, Alaska came in to All Stars with a focus as steely as Chad Michaels’ in the first All Stars, dominated all but one time – landing her in the bottom for the first time in two seasons and setting the stage for the aforementioned meltdowns – and well and truly earned her crown.

From singing her way back into the competition, to a filthy turn as Mae West in Snatch Game, her sultry Eve, a demented Baby JJ before transforming into Lil Poundcake on the runway, a killer comedy performance and an absurd commercial, Alaska was at the top of the pack before stumbling welcoming another daughter – Hawaii – into the Thunderfuck family.

Thankfully she was able to take a step back before the final runway performance, calm down and finish on a strong point with her rap and live performance and long-ago written speech full of RPDR callbacks, cementing her place in the Drag Race Hall of Fame.

Obviously when we got together for a culinary, coronation, catch-up I berated Alaska’s behaviour for about an hour before taking her in my arms and congratulating her on a job well. But that has always been the relationship Lasky and I had. You see we first met in West Hollywood while she was working at Fubar – I was trying to get Vandy to purchase the bar and make me a drag star and I started stalking her to steal her act, bit by bit.

While she caught me and we engaged in an epic on stage catfight inspired by Dynasty and ended with a microphone battle which would go on to inspire the speech scene in Bridesmaids, Alaska appreciated me for the trainwreck I was, took me under her wing and supported me to achieve my oft demented dreams.

Remembering that, I couldn’t bring myself to punish her any longer and got to work whipping up a victorious Bombe Alaska.

Was it really going to be anything else?

 

 

Bombe alaskas are something that can go really well, or really terrible – I mean, a shitty cake or a bad choice of ice cream flavour can truly spoil these majestic alien desserts from the planet Glamtron.

Wanting to avoid a major catastrophe and setting off another meltdown, I opted for a nutella inspired flavour with a delicate hazelnut cake, topped with chocolate ice cream baked under a suffocating blanket of meringue. It is, to put it simply, perfect.

Or a winner, baby. But let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a big mouthful of nut … ella? Enjoy!

 

 

Bombe Alaska
Makes: 6.

Ingredients
¼ cup hazelnut meal
¾ cup raw caster sugar, for the cake
½ cup flour
⅓ cup cornflour
6 eggs, 3 whole plus three separated, at room temperature
3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
¾ tsp sea salt, plus extra for meringue
1 tbsp almond extract
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups chocolate ice cream
½ cup sugar, for the meringue

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C.

Combine the hazelnuts in a bowl with a third of the sugar, and sift in the flour and cornstarch. Set aside.

Meanwhile, whisk the whole eggs with the yolks, remaining sugar, salt and almond extract in an electric mixer on high speed until thick, pale and holding a thick ribbon when the whisk is lifted. Ten minutes should be more than enough, though anusthing is possible depending on the mixer you’re using.

Remove from the mixture, gently fold through the flour and oil until just combined. Pour the mixture into a lined 20-25cm cake tin and place on the middle rack of the oven to bake for half an hour, or until golden and a metal skewer comes out clean. Remove from tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Once completely chill, cut out six pieces of cake the size of the base of a mug using a cookie cutter, place each in a texan muffin tin that you’ve lined with cling wrap and divide the ice cream amongst each cup. Wrap the cling over the top and transfer to the freezer for about an hour.

When they are almost ready to come out, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt using an electric mixer on high, until soft peaks form. Still beating, slowly add in the meringue sugar and beat until stiff and glossy.

When you’ve formed stiff peaks, remove the cake / ice cream from the freezer, place on a lined baking sheet and mound the meringue over each, sealing in the ice cream and cake completely. Return to the freezer for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 225°C.

Once the meringue is frozen, remove and allow to rest for ten minutes before baking in the oven for a couple of minutes (no more than five), until the meringue is golden brown.

Devour, victoriously.

 

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