They say that childhood crushes and friendships will never last beyond high school, and most of the time I would be compelled to agree, but here I am, still just as attached to my best friend as I was 12 years ago when we met.  I was but 8 years old, working through the 2nd grade, and she, well… She was just a newborn.

Although the years have aged us both in strange and unpredictable ways, she’s still pretty much the same- Acting like a rambunctious puppy, destroying any fun things (from toothbrushes to razor blades) that might have been carelessly left in her reach, or begging relentlessly for scraps at the dinner table. There are few people (or animals) that I have spent more time with, and it brings me great joy to celebrate yet another birthday with her. Better yet, it gives me the opportunity to make her something special, and even better than past years’ attempts.

At its core, this plated dessert is simply my Canine Cake from My Sweet Vegan dressed up. Using finely diced green apples instead of carrots, and tahini in place of peanut butter, it as spread out thin and baked in a loaf pan. Once cooled, rounds were cut out from the rectangle and then layered with vegan “sour cream.” Topping off the stack is a tower of apple rings, which were simply overlapped on a silpat and baked in a slow oven until crispy. Finally, a smear of tahini at the bottom of the plate leads to a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream. All perfectly suited to a puppy’s palate, I could only hope that Isis would appreciate my efforts…

Of course, I needn’t have worried, as the whole dessert disappeared in 5 seconds flat.

Happy 12th birthday Isis, and here’s to many, many more!