Another reason he is fiercely opposed to birthdays is that like the rest of us, he is a child at heart and doesn't want to grow up. He feels his body is failing him* and it's only downhill from here.
Knowing this, I don't blame him for this attitude, but his dreary view of aging is rather disheartening. So in honor of his birthday wishes, I devised an elaborate plan; He asked for a grave,** I gave him a grave.***
There were two groups of people involved: the Mourners and the Laborers. The plan was the Mourners would dress all in black to go pick him up, walking in a mourning procession (each solemnly carrying a cupcake with a single candle lit on top). Meanwhile, the Laborers would be up on Galbraith Mountain**** building a funeral pyre. If everything was timed right, the pyre would be afire right as we reached the spot.
Well, things didn't exactly go as planned, but my boyfriend***** got the gist of it. We caught the sunset atop the radio tower****** before approaching our camp in the bluffs, and he was definitely surprised to see a campfire lit already and his pyre sitting close by. It wasn't lit (wet, windy day), but it was excellent! The guys who made it put a lot of work into making it sturdy, functional, and... well, pyre-like. The birthday boy could even lay across it--He was thoroughly pleased. (Photos courtesy of Katrinka).
Anyways, so our campfire turned into a big, angry blaze of glory, as it always becomes with my boyfriend around. There were a dozen of us or so for a good portion of the night, all huddled together enjoying the night. It only started pouring rain when we were heading for our tents at around two in the morning. As always, we spent the next day recuperating and vegging out together, watching movies (most in a giant cuddle-puddle on the floor) and eating lots of food. Mmmm.
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Of course, if there's a birthday we need birthday cake! In honor of my boyfriend, I made a chocolate-chip cookie-dough ice-cream cake, for Alex is notorious for his love of sugar, and specifically for cookie-dough.
Cookie-Dough Ice-Cream Birthday Cake
(Recipe inspired by Sugar Plum).
Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate
To make the chocolate chip cookie layers, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; continue to cook the butter, whisking frequently, until it starts to brown and foam, about 4-5 minutes. Set aside.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, beat browned butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined and grainy, about 1 minute. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined. Gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined; stir in chocolate. Chill dough in the refrigerator, lightly covered, for 1 hour. Meanwhile:
Chocolate Cake Layer
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup yogurt or sour cream (I had neither, so used cottage cheese)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans.
To make the chocolate cake layers, in a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together oil, butter and granulated sugar until well combined and creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Beat in egg, vanilla and yogurt until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture until combined, about 1-2 minutes.
Divide batter into cake pans. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cakes comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; run a knife around outside edges and invert onto wire racks to cool completely.
Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Line cake pans with parchment paper.
Put some cookie dough aside. Divide the remaining and spread evenly into pans. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan before running a knife around outer edges and lifting out paper-lined cookies; remove paper.
Ice-Cream
1 quart chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, softened
Spread the ice cream evenly between cookie and cake layers*******. Put a layer of the extra cookie dough in the middle. Freeze for at least 20 minutes before covering with ganache. Meanwhile:
Ganache
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
4 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
2 teaspoons corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove pan from heat and stir in chocolate until melted and smooth. Cool to a good consistency before pouring over ice cream cake. Freeze.
Makes ten good size servings.
(I just have to say, this was terrible fun to make! It's my first ice-cream cake. Awful picture; It actually looks pretty).
*For several years now, he has suffered from bad knees that stop him from doing all the things he loves (most especially running and biking). He's lived with this injury for four or five years now, and (though I am currently completely helpless) I intend to fix them as soon as I plausibly can.
**No, really--I asked what he wanted for his birthday and he said, "A six-foot deep hole that I can throw myself in." Geez.
***I know that sounds completely morbid, but I was trying to bring light to this birthday, to satirize it in a kind of way. ****Galbraith is one of our most frequented and beloved camping spots around here because it is basically in our backyard, but a world away.
*****You know, I still feel uncomfortable saying "boyfriend." It sounds so... cheesy. I must come up with another way to address the man.
******Terribly breathtaking, terribly illegal.
*******I would recommend putting ice-cream on each layer, then stacking them to reduce melting. It was a little messy...
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