Monday, August 10, 2009

Overdue Birthday


24 years ago, it was a very hot summer and I was very pregnant. And overdue. Everyday stretched into a eternity of sweaty discomfort. I prayed daily that this might be the day the baby would come. It didn't. On my birthday I said that the only gift I wanted was to have the baby come. It didn't. A week, exactly, after my birthday, she finally came. She's always had her own ideas about the right way to do things.

We had a birthday dinner for my daughter last week and, as tradition dictates, she got to pick out her cake. True to herself, she picked out something with berries. And ice cream. And pound cake. It was delicious - Good call, Sarah!

I used the pound cake recipe from Baking. Even though Dorie clearly stated that the loaf pan was to go onto a cookie sheet, I forgot. The cake burbled over and dribbled onto the floor of the oven, producing a bit of smoky flavor to the cake.


I forgot to clean up the spillage, and when I preheated the oven for the birthday dinner pizza, I started smelling smoke. Clouds of smoke. Well, for pizza that's a good thing. We enjoyed the taste of a smokey, wood-stove pizza with only the minor annoyance of smarting eyes and fans going full bore to clear out the smoke.

I adapted a recipe I found on the internet to make the cake. It called for pre-made ice cream, sherbet and pound cake. For a birthday cake, it needed a smidge more lovin' than that, so I made all the parts. I'm only giving the recipe for the sherbet as you probably have Baking or can find a bazillion copies of the pound cake recipe on food blogs.



Frozen Raspberry Birthday Cake

1 batch of Raspberry Sherbet (recipe to follow)
1 batch of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (The Perfect Scoop)
1 9 x 5-inch loaf of pound cake (recipe in Baking)
1 pint fresh raspberries, rinsed and picked over
3 Tbsp Chambord

1- Prepare Raspberry Sherbet and place in the freezer. This can be done days ahead of time.

2- Make the Vanilla Bean Ice Cream custard a day ahead of time and refrigerate.

3- Bake the pound cake according to the directions in Baking.

4- While the pound cake is cooling, put the Vanilla Bean Ice Cream in your ice cream machine to freeze.

5- Place a 9-inch circle of parchment paper in the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Cut a 3 x 27-inch strip of parchment paper and fit it around the inside edge of the pan. Tape to secure the ends.

6- Remove the crusts from the pound cake and slice it into 1/4-inch thick slices. Cover the bottom of the prepared pan with a single layer of slices.

7- Spread a thick layer of the fresh Vanilla Bean Ice Cream over the cake and place the pan in the freezer to harden, about 25 minutes. Put the ice cream in the freezer, as well.

8- Measure 2 cups of the sherbet into a bowl and allow that to soften for the last 5 minutes or so of the freezing time (depending on the temp of your kitchen). Spread the softened sherbet over the frozen cake. Add another layer of pound cake slices and return to the freezer for another 10 minutes.

9- In a small bowl, combine the fresh raspberries with the Chambord. Allow them to sit for 10 minutes. Take the Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and the sherbet out of the freezer to soften for about 3-5 minutes.

10- Remove the cake from the freezer and spread the berries evenly over the cake. Place dollops of the softened Vanilla Bean Ice Cream over the raspberries and use a rubber spatula to spread it smooth.

11- Place a final layer of pound cake slices over the cake. Spread the remaining sherbet over the top and smooth it out. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze till firm - about 4 hours.

12- For presentation, remove the sides of the springform pan and slide the cake onto a platter. Garnish with additional raspberries, if desired. Allow the cake to soften slightly to make it easier to slice. Tightly wrap any remaining cake and put it back into the freezer.

Raspberry Sherbet
- adapted from The Perfect Scoop

4 cups fresh raspberries
2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Place the first 3 ingredients into a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Strain the mixture to remove the seeds, then add the lemon juice. Freeze in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

27 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Happy belated birthday to your daughter!!

And I'm so glad to see you posting, dear Lynn!! :)

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

A little more loving ... there's plenty of that in your house always spilling out much more than cake batters in the oven and no burning smells.
Wonderful cake Lynn, sorry I missed.

Michelle {Brown Eyed Baker} said...

What a bright, fresh and fabulous cake! Love it! Happy Birthday to your daughter!

Jennifer Jo said...

Lynn, I love the photos on this post. The cake looks oh-so-yummy. And I know all about overdue babies. My sympathies go out to you...24 years post-fact.

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

That is absolutely worth having a birthday for - what a glorious cake!

Justin said...

you even made the ice cream from scratch? i'm definitely impressed.

Anonymous said...

That looks just fabulous!

Sarah said...

It was SO yummy. I loved it. Thank you for always being so rad and letting me pick out my cake every year :-)

Melinda said...

It sounds a lovely cake to have for a summer birthday. (my daughter was 3 plus weeks late too...she'll be 24 on Sept 1st. I thought I was going to have to do my own C-section. She, too, has a mind of her own. Uncanny this, eh?)
Happy 24 Sarah!
The last picture is tres arty farty.
Nice!

grace said...

wowza, you're gal has awesome taste! you are rad, lynn, i can tell. :)

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Oh, was a sweet, girly-girl cake that is, Lynn! Apparently Sarah inherited her mom's good taste in baking! ps-Clouds of smoke is a "good thing" for pizza. I love that. It's so Julia Child of you! :)

Anh said...

Happy belated birthday to Sarah!

And what a cake, Lynn! I love it!

Elle said...

Another birthday! How wonderful!! The cake is gorgeous and obviously a work of love, even with the slight smoky taste. Love the photos!

Debbie said...

Happy birthday to your daughter. What a beautiful cake. My oldest turns 25 this year and the time has flown by....it goes so fast!

Katrina said...

Yum! That looks great. Happy Birthday to you both!

eatme_delicious said...

What a perfect summer birthday cake!! Happy birthday to both of you.

Homemade Heaven said...

I wish my mom made me that cake for my birthday! I guess I'll have to do it for myself - just a little cold to have ice cream for my birthday.

Barbara said...

What a gorgeous cake! And what a lucky daughter. Perfect for summer too.

Maria said...

What an amazing cake. It is so unique!

Aimée said...

Happy birthday Sarah! Wow, 24years young.

Hope you're having a great summer, Lynn! Are you making any jam? Don't forget, you can submit your jam posts to my virtual jam swap!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Happy, happy birthday. A perfect cake for this time of year!!

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

Whoa! Incredibly awesome! Don't let my boyfriend see this... I know he'll want it and his birthday is in January. Finding proper raspberris in January would be a joke! Haha ;P

Diane said...

Lynn, I could just eat the picture - totally yummy looking.

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Peabody said...

Aren't you sweet to go the extra mile and make it all yourself.
Looks gorgeous in color and super yummy!

SteamyKitchen said...

Wow, happy belated bday to BOTH of you!

Talita said...

Gorgeous pics!!! Looks really delicious this frozen cake!