Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Prep Time: Four hours, including a six-mile hike.

Baking Time: Varies, based upon pace.

What you’ll need:

Birch burl bowl.

Birch bark baking sheet.

Red pine whisk.

Ingredients:

One slightly chewed Red-belted polypore.

A midden of spruce cone scales; be sure to discard the “cobs.” Any seeds will provide a bonus.

A year-old Striped Maple leaf as a sweetner.

A clump or two of reindeer lichen for texture.

A single Blue Jay feather for color.

And a bear claw tree for high fat content.

Directions:

Combine the fungus, ground spruce, striped maple, lichen, feather, and fat in the mixing bowl.

Beat rapidly in order to incorporate brisk fresh air.

Cream until the right texture is achieved.

Drizzle more water into the batter.

Keep an eye on its consistency, added more as necessary.

Pull the whisk straight up and down to form stiff inverted peaks.

Pour a glaze over the top.

Place it in the oven knowing that you put your heart and soul into the recipe.

Hike to the summit and beyond. After stopping for a PB&J lunch break out of the wind, check the oven.

Tada. The perfect dessert rising before you. Topped not only with the glaze, but a few snowflakes as well.

(View of Round Mountain from Long Mountain in Albany, Maine. If you go to this quiet place, do beware of ice underfoot.)