Baked Vancouvers

Recipe.

Normally such a dessert would make me ooh and aah and then flip the page. I am generally not into a dessert with so many steps. Even though as a kid I watched plenty Love Boat episodes, with guests clapping as the waiter lit their dessert on fire. I even stated at the ripe age of 8 that as an adult I would make flaming desserts nightly.

There is one holiday where you can afford to spend a little more time on dinner and dessert. That’s right; Valentine’s Day is all about cooking for two. When you only have two of something you have the luxury of freezer space and can easily accomplish the different steps to The Food Network Magazine’s Baked Vancouver’s at your own pace.

I mean who doesn’t love cake, ice cream and rum and especially when it is on fire!

Baked Vancouver’s Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 12-ounce loaf chocolate pound cake
• 1 quart chocolate-chip ice cream, slightly softened
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup white rum

Directions
Cut the pound cake into eight 3/4-inch-thick slices. Cut a circle from each slice using a 4- or 6-ounce ramekin as a guide; crumble the scraps. Fit each piece of cake in a ramekin, then fill with the ice cream to about 1/4 inch from the top. Sprinkle with the cake crumbs. Freeze until the ice cream is hard, at least 1 hour.

Combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk over low heat until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are warm, about 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and beat the whites with a mixer on high speed until they hold stiff peaks. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag with a round tip and pipe on top of the ice cream and cake crumbs to completely cover. Make a small indent, about 1 inch deep, in the top of the meringue, for the rum.

Brown the meringue all over (including the indentation) with a kitchen torch. Place the rum in a small pot over low heat until warm but not boiling. Transfer to a liquid measuring cup and pour into the indentation in each dessert. Light the rum with a match. Let the flame burn out and serve immediately.