Tiramisu ice cream birthday cake

A frozen delight inspired by the iconic Balboa Bars

Balboa Island feels almost too perfect to be real. A tiny slip of land bobbing in the harbor at Newport Beach, it’s exactly what I imagine a quintessential Californian seaside town to be: sailboats tied to wooden docks; baskets of petunias and hydrangeas spilling from pastel porches with white picket fences; children on beach cruisers pedaling home with towels flung over sunburnt shoulders. There are a handful of ice cream shops and taffy stalls scattered along Marine Avenue, but Sugar ’n Spice is the one everyone prefers.

As magical as it looks

This old-fashioned ice cream stand has been going strong since 1945. On summer weekends you will find a long line of eager customers queuing round the block. Sugar ‘n Spice is known for its frozen bananas, Balboa Bars, chocolate-dipped frozen cheesecake and ice cream cookie sandwiches. But the best…. the best by far, is their frozen tiramisu.

At the end of a hot afternoon wandering the island, salt crystallizing in your hair, sand packed between your toes, shoulders the color of ripe peaches and nose properly burnt, you’re sun-drunk, and a little dizzy from heat and happiness. At this moment, nothing — absolutely nothing — will hit the spot like a frozen tiramisu on a stick. And that’s not all - you can ask for this delicacy to be dunked in chocolate and then select your own toppings to finish. Think rainbow sprinkles, crushed Oreos, and a peanut butter drizzle so thick it sets in glossy ribbons that cling between your teeth.

If you have any sense, you’ll ask for it all.

Today’s recipe is a Tiramisu ice cream birthday cake, layered with sweet vanilla mascarpone cream, espresso and brown sugar–soaked ladyfingers, and a dark cherry compote that brings a lush, tart bite to every slice. Dress this confection as simply or as extravagantly as you like. Swirl with mocha buttercream, scatter over rainbow sprinkles, and crown with a single, unapologetically garish maraschino cherry.

Alternatively, in Sugar ‘n Spice Balboa style, try encasing individual slices in a crisp shell of good dark chocolate. Of course white or milk chocolate work too if you prefer something sweeter. Once enrobed, roll the sides in cookie crumbs, chocolate sprinkles, or finish with freeze-dried cherries for a tart little spark that will balance out the creaminess. You can always leave the frozen tiramisu bare, with no adornments - it’s just as delicious.

Note: Salt & Straw have this incredibly delicious birthday cakes and blackberries flavored ice cream that is similar in flavor profile to today’s confection, if you can, head to a scoop store and treat yourself to a scoop or two…or three.

• Planning a summer barbecue? Make the frozen tiramisu a few days ahead, freeze, then when you’re ready to serve, slice and insert wooden sticks to turn each piece into an ice cream bar.

• Set up a DIY topping station: place bowls of melted chocolate, mocha buttercream, peanut butter, and fruit syrups for drizzling, as well as bowls of sliced almonds, chopped peanuts, cookie crumbs, sprinkles, cherries, freeze-dried fruit, and little crunchy candies as optional toppings. Kids - and perhaps even more so, adults - will love it.

• Not everyone likes cherries, so for the compote, feel free to substitute whichever fruit you prefer. Any summer berry works beautifully: blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries. You can even use a good store-bought preserve or even jam (at a pinch), though homemade is always best.

• For the chocolate coating, I use Valrhona chocolate - Dulcey, 70% dark, and crunchy pearls.