I read a list of the bucket list items to try in Boston, and near the top of the list was Oleana's Baked Alaska ($14). This stuck out to me for a few reasons: Oleana wasn't too far away, and what the hell is baked Alaska?

The dessert is made with six ingredients: ice cream, sponge cake, egg whites, sugar, vanilla, and salt. A scoop of ice cream on a bed of cake is smothered in a generous layer of meringue and baked in an ultra-hot oven. A few minutes later, out comes an irresistible confection, one with a piping hot exterior, like that of a toasted marshmallow, encapsulating the ice cream, which remains frozen. It’s an ice cream dessert that is actually baked.

We didn't care to eat inside since we only wanted dessert, so we had to convince them to get this dish to go. You can see why this could be problematic. You need to eat it almost as soon as it's served. As soon as it was served to us, we hopped in the car, headed home and raced up the stairs.

Oleana's Baked Alaska is built upon a chewy coconut macaron base. Atop that is a housemade coconut ice cream, and it's all wrapped in a torched meringue. I loved the chewy macaron, which gave some nice texture. The odd part is a tangy, bitter passionfruit sauce. It definitely tones down the sweetness, but it also made me pucker a bit.

It's a pricey dessert, and I could do without the passionfruit sauce, but the macaron, ice cream and meringue were a unique flavor combination I've never had before. I think it's definitely something to try!

Grade: B