Quite a Birthday Cake Conundrum

Let's see if we can work this one out.

Sunday was my son’s birthday. He’s the one I almost drowned when he was one-and-a-half years old. If I could remember how many years have passed since then, I could tell you which birthday this is. This isn’t as bad as it sounds: I can’t remember anyone’s age, including my own. But isn’t it more important that this birthday finds my son a fully grown, healthy, happy man?

I prepared the family’s ritual dinner of whatever the birthday boy wants. It’s long been chicken burritos and Carvel ice cream cake. My burritos are famous. A couple of times I thought I could top Carvel with my own freshly baked cake layered with extraordinarily expensive ice cream. Everyone agreed, though, that Carvel was far superior and that was the end of homemade.

This year, though, my son texted:

“Birria tacos. Ice cream cake is fine. You know what I’d really like? Crème brûlée cheesecake.”

I didn’t know anything about birria tacos but I looked the recipe up and it seemed simple enough. The bigger problem was the cake. Carvel is pure lactose and I have a medicine cabinet full of remedies for that. Crème brûlée cheesecake is lactose upon lactose built on a gluten-rich base. If you read last week’s story you will understand just how dismaying my son’s request was. His desire was an authentic double punch to a gut I just began to fix with a gluten-free diet. There would be trouble from the very start of making a cheesecake because, as everyone knows, one of the most mandatory steps in dessert recipes is to continuiously taste the batter.

The fix was to purchase a small Junior’s cheesecake along with the Carvel ice cream cake.

Then I thought of how heartened I have been by the response from readers who reached out to me with a ton of information about how to transform my diet. Several went so far as to send long lists of gluten-free ingredients, a bunch of cookbook recommendations and recipes to try. One cannot whine when faced with so much kindness.

I returned to the store and bought a bag of Bob’s Red Mill almond flour and baked the recipe on the back, Magically Moist Almond Cake.

Come nightfall, we gathered around the table and had a good time with the tacos. Then it was time for cake….cakes. Before my son arrived, he stopped off at the Mr. Convenience II Smoke Shop down the street to buy a small blow torch to melt the sugar topping for the crème brûlée cheesecake. It was a lot of fun except neither of us have had experience with blow torches and we burnt the sugar. You’d think that would solve the cheesecake situation but wasting a whole cheesecake is not in our DNA. My son returned to his place at the table while candles were lit. Out of the kitchen came a parade of cakes. He blew out all his candles and then we set to demolishing all three.

I am proud to say the almond cake proved to be moist and finely flavored. I think next time I’ll try to track down lactose-free heavy cream to whip and serve on the side. Or maybe pour dark chocolate over the top. Or glaze it with jam. Lemon curd, my current obsession, would be quite lovely to spread across the top of such a magically moist almond cake.

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I found the best recipe for birras on Isabel Orozco-Moore’s site, Isabeleats. She concentrates on the richly spiced stew but omits how to build it into tacos. Follow this link to Isabel’s recipe, then see the instructions below the video for how to create the tacos.

BIRRAS TACOS

to serve 4 people

1 cup finely chopped white onion
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
pinch of salt
Canola oil for greasing the skillet
32 (6-inch) fresh corn tortillas or 16 store bought corn tortillas
8 ounces Oaxacan cheese, shredded
Lime wedges, for serving

Stir together onion, cilantro, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat and coat the bottom with a slick of oil. Using tongs, dip one tortilla into the broth. Place in the skillet and fry on either side. Be careful it doesn’t burn. You just want it to brown—about 40 seconds per side. Lay the tortilla on a cookie sheet and cover the top with cheese. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.

Cover each tortilla with cheese and about a tablespoon or so of shredded meat. Scatter some of the chopped onion and cilantro mix over the meat.

Fold each tortilla in half. Return to the skillet and fry in batches for several minutes or until they are crispy and browned on the bottom and the cheese has begun to melt. Flip and cook the other side until crispy and browned.

To serve: Arrange the finished tacos on a platter and sprinkle the remaining chopped white onion and cilantro over them. Serve with plenty of lime wedges and a cup of warm consommé broth from the stew for each diner to dip their tacos in.