Happy Belated Birthday to Me...

I am officially 22!

And did I celebrate? No, not really.

I have been extremely busy with school and life in general. I feel like so many things are happening all at once.

Exciting thing number one: I participated in a pole dance/pole fitness competition. For the last few months, I have spent all my free time training and preparing for my first pole competition. And the culmination of all this hard work was the day before my birthday.

I am proud to say that I won first place in my level and division. Even now, I get giddy just thinking about it. Really. Bringing home a first place medal was a pretty fabulous birthday gift to myself.

Exciting thing number two: I’m graduating Valedictorian of Cal State Fullerton’s Communications department. On the day after my birthday, I received an email from a professor who is serving as chair of the Commencement Committee. Not only did he inform me of my superior GPA (his words, not mine—but I do agree with them), but he also asked if I would give a speech!

My first thought? You may regret having asked me, but I would LOVE to give a speech! Life goal achieved! And then I was so happy that I began to laugh hysterically.

Exciting thing number three: I started my internship with the OC Register. I met with the writers overseeing my internship on the same day I heard that I’ll be graduating Valedictorian. Over the next few months, I’ll have the opportunity to gain some journalistic experience whilst dabbling in the Entertainment, Features, and Food sections. I have a press pass and everything! I’m sure I’ll have plenty of adventures in the coming months.

With all this excitement, I haven’t really had any time for myself. But this past Saturday was the first free day I’ve had in a while, so I spent it baking and watching the animated BBC adaptation of Beatrix Potter’s children’s stories. The weather was warm and spring-like and glorious, the house smelled of cake, and anthropomorphic animals in bonnets and jackets spoke in English accents on my TV. It was probably the best day ever.

When creating this cake (which I like to think of as my belated birthday cake), I knew I wanted to flambé it. I had a conversation with my mentor, Dr. April Bullock, after the holidays about the entertainment value of purposefully setting dessert on fire. I had baked mini rum cakes for Christmas and she had sent me the New York Times’ Flaming Baba au Rhum recipe, and I began to think…why use candles on a birthday cake when you can douse the whole thing in rum and set it on fire? So after further research, that’s just what I did.

Enjoy! (And please be safe!)

Flaming Coconut-Lime Birthday Cake (Yield: 1-8” cake)

Cake Ingredients:

1-1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. sugar

Grated zest of 1 large lime

1/2 c. butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

1/2 c. plain yogurt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 c. sweetened, shredded coconut

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Grease and flour an 8” round cake pan.*
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Place the sugar in a large bowl, then zest the lime over the sugar. Rub the zest and sugar together with your fingertips until the sugar becomes slightly damp and fragrant.
4. Cream the butter and sugar together with a fork until it becomes light and fluffy. Then add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Combine the yogurt and extracts in a measuring cup.
6. Switching to a rubber spatula, fold half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Pour in all of the wet ingredients, and mix it well. Pour in the rest of the dry ingredients, and fold just until the flour mixes into the batter. Mix in the coconut.
7. Pour the batter into the cake pan, and rap it on the counter a couple of times to level the top and release any air bubbles. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out cleanly. Cool completely.

*Save the butter wrapper from the stick used in this recipe and rub the greasy side into the cake pan. Then proceed to dust it with a spoonful of flour. Waste not, want not! :)

Meringue Ingredients:

2 egg whites

1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 c. sugar

2 tsp. lime juice

1. Place the egg whites and the cream of tarter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat until it becomes foamy.
2. Gradually add the sugar to the egg whites, increasing the speed of the mixer, and whisk until the whites become stiff and glossy.
3. Pour in the lime juice and mix until combined.

Assembly:

1/4 c. rum

1. Take the cake out of its tin and place it on an overturned 9” cake pan. Place the cake and its faux stand onto a large baking sheet. This will serve as a safety zone when you flambé your cake.
2. Pile all of the meringue into the center of the cake with a rubber spatula or large spoon. With an offset spatula, push and smooth the meringue out toward the edges of the cake. You can frost the sides of the cake, but I like to see the contrast between the golden cake and the glossy white meringue. Then take the edge of the offset spatula and press and lift it all over the meringue with swift, gentle movements. This will create little spikes and peaks all over the top of the cake.
3. Place the cake (still on the baking sheet) under the broiler for a few minutes, until the meringue browns. Don’t leave the kitchen! It doesn’t take long for the meringue to become golden and it burns easily, so watch it closely.
4. When you’re ready to serve the cake, place 1/4 c. rum in a glass measuring cup and warm it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Gently pour the rum over the top of the meringue. Some will drip over the side of the cake—this is what the baking sheet is for.
5. Using a long-handled match, light the rum and enjoy the show! Be sure to let the alcohol burn out on its own—it doesn’t take more than 20-30 seconds. Just don’t blow the flame out!

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Chunk N Chip from Schardé Vallone on Vimeo.

Visiting the Chunk N Chip truck last semester was fun—one of the best times I’ve had while shooting an OC News package. While there really is no way to go wrong when shooting a segment focused on dessert, there was something about the Chunk N Chip truck that was especially relaxing and enjoyable.

Maybe it was the fact that the space we had to shoot in was confined to a truck. It may have been Chunk N Chip’s unique concept and how delicious their ice cream sandwiches were. Or it could have been the really attractive customer that came to the truck’s window—I stared at him from inside the truck for about five minutes.

No matter the reason, all I know was that I left wanting to create my own ice cream sandwich. The Chunk N Chip truck had so many flavor combinations and options that I decided to put together my own—pistachio and strawberry.


 

These recipes took a bit of trial and error. I went through two versions of the pistachio cookie and two versions of the ice cream, but I think I have something good here. The pistachio-coconut cookies have ground oatmeal in them, which gives the cookies a really substantial texture.

As for the ice cream, I wanted to create a recipe that wouldn’t require an ice cream maker. As a result, the texture is frostier and harder than traditional ice cream, so I recommend letting it thaw for a bit before serving. But trust me when I say that it tastes exactly like cheesecake. It is a thing of beauty.



 

Pistachio Coconut Cookies (Yield: about 26 cookies)

Ingredients

1/2 c. old-fashioned or quick-cook oatmeal

1 c. flour

1/2 c. desiccated coconut

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick of butter, at room temperature

1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 egg

1/2 c. pistachios, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 355º F.
2. Place the oatmeal in a food processor and process until the oats are fine.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the ground oatmeal, flour, desiccated coconut, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a fork until the mixture is fluffy and homogenous. Pour in both the vanilla and almond extracts as well as the egg and beat until fully combined.
5. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture with a rubber spatula. Then fold in the pistachios.
6. Scoop out mounds of dough with a small ice cream scoop or a spoon and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving two inches between each cookie.
7. Bake the cookies for 13 to 15 minutes. Don't expect them to become golden, these cookies stay a creamy pale color (the better to see the pieces of pistachios). They'll also still seem soft, but the cookies will firm up as they cool.

No-Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 c. strawberries, hulled and quartered

1/2 c. white sugar

2 tbsp. water

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 c. brown sugar, lightly packed

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. heavy cream

1. Place the strawberries, white sugar, and water in a saucepan and let it simmer for about seven minutes, stirring every so often with a wooden spoon. A sauce will form and the strawberries will become soft enough to smash. Mash a portion of the berries with the back of your spoon, depending on how chunky you want the fruit in your ice cream.
2. Pour the mixture into a bowl and chill for at least 45 minutes, or until the strawberry sauce is cool.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
4. Add the heavy cream and begin whipping the mixture on low speed until everything is combined. Increase the speed to medium, and continue whipping the cream until the volume of the mixture increases and it can hold a soft peak.
5. Gently fold in the cooled strawberry sauce with a rubber spatula.
6. Pour into a metal or glass baking dish and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze the ice cream for at least three to four hours. 
7. Before serving, place the ice cream in the refrigerator to thaw for about 20 minutes.

To assemble your sandwiches, find two cookies that are roughly similar in size. Place a scoop of ice cream on the bottom of one cookie and gently press the other cookie on top of it.