There’s one important thing I learned from all my years as a culinary adventurer: a meal is not complete without a dessert. I even call it an incomplete, forgettable meal if I can’t partake of a dessert. A great dessert caps up the experience and leaves a refreshing taste in the palate. From sherbets to cakes, I thought I tasted every dessert there is. That is until I came to Alaska, the United States’ last frontier. In this land of snow, wilderness, mountains, and majestic beauty, I found desserts that defy imagination and are absolutely spectacular.
If you’re coming to Alaska for a vacation or for a wild adventure, then do what I did; complete your experience by tasting their desserts. After consuming reindeer sausages, bear steak, muktuk, and other main courses, you should end your meal with either of the following meal cappers.
Sweet Alaskan Delights
1. Baked Alaska
No, Alaska is covered in snow and is constantly blown by sharp, cold winds. I’m talking about a dessert made of sponge cake and ice cream and topped with meringue. Alaskan chefs swap different varieties and quantities of the three ingredients to create endless versions of baked Alaska. But the magic lies not in its wonderful taste but its texture. The cake is baked and warm, but the ice cream is still frozen called inside. How did they do that?
If you want a little more fun, cover your serving with rum then set it on fire to slightly roast the cake. This version is called Bombe Alaska.
2. Wild Berry Cobbler
While you may think that Alaska is a vast frozen tract of land, it is actually the home to a variety of tasty, sweet, exotic wild berries such as mossberies, lingonberries, and samonberries. Of course, you can always opt for the more common raspberries, blueberries, and black berries.
A handful of these wild berries are added on a freshly baked cobbler, a filling made of either fruit or savoury ingredients. The cobbler is then poured in a biscuit, batter, or pie crust then slowly baked for an hour. The result is a warm, sumptuous dessert that will surely tickle your palate.
3. Agutuk or Akutaq
Never leave an Alaskan dinner without capping it off with the traditional but seemingly unpalatable dessert. The Alaskan agutuk is food for the brave; it is basically a blend of seal oil, reindeer fat, snow, and berries. Everything is then whipped up until they reach a foamy consistency. Originally, the dessert is considered as survival food. However, it found its way to restaurants and is now considered an indispensable part of Alaskan cuisine.
Oh, by the way, the recipe used for the preparation of your agutuk may have been passed down from generation to generation.
4. Alaskan Strawberries Romanoff Pudding
The inclusion of the word “Romanoff” signifies one thing; it has a Russian origin, which obviously makes this dessert really special. This lovely dessert is a delightful blend of cream topped with sugar and strawberries. It’s simple but absolutely wonderful.
Is your mouth watering now? Treat that urge with these Alaskan delights.