Baked Alaska

I first heard about Baked Alaska in a Physics exam question. Now I've eaten it. It is a dessert that involves putting ice cream in the oven. Why doesn't it melt? the answer is that there is a layer of meringue (basically whipped egg white) around the ice cream. It is this that needs baking. But it acts as an insulator. Insulators allow thermal energy through slowly so that if the dessert is only in the oven for a short time, the thermal energy can't reach the ice cream in time to melt it.