Baked Alaska

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray; set aside.

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together into a small bowl. Set aside. Beat butter, vanilla, and 1 cup of the sugar with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until light, pale, and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well and stopping to scrape bowl between additions.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat on low speed until just combined after each addition; do not over-mix. Pour batter into prepared pan, and smooth top with a spatula.

Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack, and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Place inverted cake layer on a serving platter, and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

While cake bakes, line a 2-quart (8-inch wide) bowl with plastic wrap. Fill bowl with scoops of chocolate ice cream, pistachio ice cream, and sorbet, alternating small and large scoops. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the ice cream; press down to close gaps between scoops and even out surface. Leave plastic wrap on ice cream, and freeze until firm, about 2 hours. Remove plastic wrap from top, and invert bowl over frozen cake layer, creating a dome shape. Carefully remove bowl from ice cream while leaving ice cream covered with plastic wrap. Freeze until very firm, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed until foamy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Gradually beat in remaining 1 cup sugar on medium-high speed until whites are glossy and stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.

Remove plastic wrap from ice cream. Cover top and sides of ice cream and cake layer with meringue. Use a kitchen torch to carefully brown sides and top of meringue. Slice wedges from cake to serve immediately, or freeze until ready to serve.