Hot Plate: Seven Toronto takes on baked Alaska

Like a culinary Two Face, baked Alaska combines frosty, creamy decadence and sizzling-hot showmanship into a dual-personality dessert that never fails to turn heads. A classic of the pastry canon, the meringue-cloaked marriage of cake and ice cream is baked or torched, a step that morphs its cottony cap into a maze of warm, chewy golden edges.

Related: Eight Toronto takes on steak tartare

When it’s flambéed tableside, thus becoming a bombe Alaska, the drama is dialled up even more. Complex yet charmingly vintage, it’s a confection that’s finding favour among a new group of chefs eager to flaunt their skills as they cater to guests with an insatiable appetite for spectacle. What’s old is new again, and the baked Alaska is the astonishing final course currently wowing Toronto diners. Here are seven that will have you feeling hot—but not bothered—as your meal comes to a glorious end.

The luxe one

1 An ostentatious shrine to premium meats, imported raw fish, grand cru wines and generally living large in the company of other big spenders, Blue Bovine Steak and Sushi House is the perfect backdrop for a baked Alaska bolstered with bubbly, brandy and bravado. The tableside baked Alaska for two is a structural marvel of blackout cake, intense chocolate ice cream, raspberry sorbet and a layer of berry prosecco truffle. “It combines rich, indulgent layers with refreshing bursts of flavour,” says executive chef Sean Blomeley. Order it after the team’s flambéed tomahawk for a one-two punch of pyrotechnics. $30, bluebovine.com

The zero-proof one

2 No less fun than its soused counterparts, the baked Alaska at Glass Kitchen bucks the dessert’s boozy reputation. Made of lychee sorbet, raspberry ice cream, fruit jam, passion fruit and almond dacquoise, it balances brightness with a silky, scorched gloss of marshmallowy meringue. For executive chef and partner Keith Pears, the dish combines tradition, innovation and memories into one show-stopping finale. It’s one that was inspired by his heritage—a lengthy line of talented family cooks—and the fact, he adds, that food is like fashion: “Eventually, everything comes back around.” $16, glasskitchencanada.com

The two in one

3 The fact that Melissa Valdez, corporate pastry chef for Scale Hospitality, chose to marry two classic desserts into a single stunner at Maxime’s comes as no surprise when you consider that the restaurant’s name translates to “the greatest.” Constructed like a baked Alaska with a bananas Foster heart, the dessert is a saucy, complex combo of caramelized banana ice cream, nutty coffee financier, salted caramel and spiced rum. “It’s a timeless dish executed with its own little flare,” says Valdez. Set alight, it’s also an attention grabber. And on King West, isn’t that the whole point? $22, maximestoronto.com

The tropical one

4 Once you manage to snag a table at Nobu Toronto, it’s de rigueur to spend the night inhaling the celebrated spot’s signature dishes—from the rock shrimp tempura to the miso black cod to the lychee martinis. Just leave room for their take on baked Alaska, a dish that’s as refined, revered, surprising and balanced as other Nobu classics. “It cleanses your palate with passion fruit sorbet, coconut sorbet and mango coulis,” says executive chef Alex Tzatzos of the bracing, fragrant dessert. Flambéed with rum as shutterbugs go to town, the petite sweet perfectly encapsulates Nobu’s style. $26, noburestaurants.com/Toronto/nobu-toronto

The oversized one

5 Big on flavour, big on nostalgia and just plain big, the Joneses’ baked Alaska for two is a confection inspired by early American culinary lore. “It’s both interactive and highly Instagrammable,” says O&B district executive chef Andrew Piccinin. A dish that hits the restaurant’s retro notes loudly, it also delivers utter satisfaction by way of plush devil’s chocolate cake, tangy raspberry sorbet, velvety gelato and toasted Italian meringue. “The baked Alaska offers everything you want in a dessert: cake, meringue and ice cream, with an irresistible hot-cold contrast,” says Piccinin. Finished with a lick of spiced rum and a flicker of flame, it specializes in getting a reaction—even from aloof Don Draper types. $21, thejonesesrestaurant.com

The classic one

6 Nostalgia and novelty are woven together at Vela, a swish space inspired by hotel lobby bars. Yet the restaurant’s baked Alaska isn’t quite like anything you might have come to expect from the typical hotel watering hole. “We like timeless dishes, and we put our own spin on them,” explains executive chef and partner Marvin Palomo. To wit: the classic dessert is modernized with gluten-free vanilla cake, lush pistachio ice cream, preserved raspberry mousse and Swiss meringue. The bombe is then doused in Grand Marnier at the table and set ablaze. “It’s also a way for the team to have a last conversation with the guest, to see how they’re doing,” adds Palomo. “It’s a whole experience.” $20, velatoronto.com

The Italian one

7 Shot through with the flavours of Sicily—buttery pistachios, fruity olive oil and zingy limoncello—the Baked Palermo at Via Allegro pays homage to executive chef Marco Zandona’s Italian roots. According to the restaurant’s culinary director, Claudio Aprile, it’s a dish that never goes out of style and that fits seamlessly with the restaurant’s roster of timeless culinary throwbacks. A final pour of flaming grappa delivers visual drama, a warm downy exterior and the lingering whisper of the liqueur’s aromatic bouquet. “In short,” says Aprile, “it stops the conversation. It’s celebratory. It’s theatrical.” $23, viaallegroristorante.com