Just eaten a lot of cake after my son’s wedding made by my dear friend who makes the best carrot cake imaginable. But always makes me think of another friend who calls carrot cake ‘pretending-to-be-healthy-cake’. My favourite (and super easy) cake is the Claudia Roden boiled orange and almond cake https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/sep/28/claudia-rodens-orange-and-almond-cake
Katherine, I'm sorry for the delay responding to this - I thought I'd already done so! Congratulations to your son, and that carrot cake sounds wonderful. Ha! Pretending to be healthy indeed! I have fond memories of my childhood best friend's mother's birthday cake. Our birthdays were two days apart and she always made carrot cake for her birthday, so I still associate carrot cake with our birthdays. And I'm going to have to try that boiled orange and almond cake - I love an easy cake and those are two of my favourite ingredients. Thank you for the recommendation!
I want to read about your obsession with cake. Cake - baking and consuming - is a vital part of life. Creativity, comfort, celebration, friendship, sharing, indulgence, nourishment (body and soul) are all the magic dust stirred into a mix of flour, eggs and butter. Virtually every culture has cake (Eskimo excepted?) though some are very different from the western European/American/Canadian cakes. But they are cakes nonetheless keeping all the same promises.
Thank you, Michele! I agree with everything you've written about cake being a vital part and like the image of all those elements being 'magic dust' stirred in with the other ingredients. Your comment made me curious about traditional Inuit desserts. I found some interesting information online about akutak, but you are right, it is not a baked dessert. I recently saw a reel on instagram in which a woman reflects on all her years baking the same cake, for so many different occasions, and how the cake has remained the same but she has changed so much. I liked this idea of cake as a constant, that element of comfort and stability as well. Have you seen Maira Kalman's book Cake: A cookbook? It's lovely. Thanks again for reading. x
It is 7:45am in my world, but after reading this lovely piece, I yearn for just one slice of every cake you have mentioned! Please continue the cake saga! And I do absolutely love that cig with its ash. I can see your granny sitting there. Loved it all
Yummy cake piece, Rebecca! I recently borrowed a book from the library titled Snacking Cakes by Yossy Arefi. So far I have made a Spiced Chocolate Pumpkin cake with a spiced pumpkin glaze, and on another day, a Morning Glory Cake. Both were easy and delicious. Another inspiring recipe book I have out is A Good Day to Bake by Benjamina Ebuehi, which includes a flourless chocolate, olive oil and almond cake recipe I am planning to make this weekend. I loved the way you incorporated the cake images with your writing for this piece. I look forward to eating cake with you sometime soon!
Thanks, Adrienne! Those cakes sound so good. I love morning glory muffins so a full cake would be even better! I have also borrowed the Benjamina Ebuehi cookbook and made that really good carrot cake but that is a good reminder, I should get it out again!
I thoroughly enjoyed this, as I’ve just finished actually baking a cake! :) It’s a recipe by Nigella Lawson – chocolate and raspberries. Always a winning combination and the perfect way to end tomorrow’s dinner party. My favourite cakes almost always feature chocolate. Here in Austria, we have the famous Sachertorte, which is simply heavenly. I’m one of the few who genuinely enjoys the original one from the Hotel Sacher in Vienna – it costs a fortune, but it’s worth every penny.
Well, as you can see, I could talk about cakes endlessly! This is yet another proof that your choice of topic was spot on. Sending love from this side of the world to the other,
Thank you for your kind words, Katharina! I am not surprised we have this in common. I agree with you about the chocolate raspberry combination. And I am more determined than ever to come visit Austria now, I have tried Sachertorte here in Canada but I’m sure it pales in comparison to the original!! x
Just eaten a lot of cake after my son’s wedding made by my dear friend who makes the best carrot cake imaginable. But always makes me think of another friend who calls carrot cake ‘pretending-to-be-healthy-cake’. My favourite (and super easy) cake is the Claudia Roden boiled orange and almond cake https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/sep/28/claudia-rodens-orange-and-almond-cake
Katherine, I'm sorry for the delay responding to this - I thought I'd already done so! Congratulations to your son, and that carrot cake sounds wonderful. Ha! Pretending to be healthy indeed! I have fond memories of my childhood best friend's mother's birthday cake. Our birthdays were two days apart and she always made carrot cake for her birthday, so I still associate carrot cake with our birthdays. And I'm going to have to try that boiled orange and almond cake - I love an easy cake and those are two of my favourite ingredients. Thank you for the recommendation!
I want to read about your obsession with cake. Cake - baking and consuming - is a vital part of life. Creativity, comfort, celebration, friendship, sharing, indulgence, nourishment (body and soul) are all the magic dust stirred into a mix of flour, eggs and butter. Virtually every culture has cake (Eskimo excepted?) though some are very different from the western European/American/Canadian cakes. But they are cakes nonetheless keeping all the same promises.
Thank you, Michele! I agree with everything you've written about cake being a vital part and like the image of all those elements being 'magic dust' stirred in with the other ingredients. Your comment made me curious about traditional Inuit desserts. I found some interesting information online about akutak, but you are right, it is not a baked dessert. I recently saw a reel on instagram in which a woman reflects on all her years baking the same cake, for so many different occasions, and how the cake has remained the same but she has changed so much. I liked this idea of cake as a constant, that element of comfort and stability as well. Have you seen Maira Kalman's book Cake: A cookbook? It's lovely. Thanks again for reading. x
It is 7:45am in my world, but after reading this lovely piece, I yearn for just one slice of every cake you have mentioned! Please continue the cake saga! And I do absolutely love that cig with its ash. I can see your granny sitting there. Loved it all
Yummy cake piece, Rebecca! I recently borrowed a book from the library titled Snacking Cakes by Yossy Arefi. So far I have made a Spiced Chocolate Pumpkin cake with a spiced pumpkin glaze, and on another day, a Morning Glory Cake. Both were easy and delicious. Another inspiring recipe book I have out is A Good Day to Bake by Benjamina Ebuehi, which includes a flourless chocolate, olive oil and almond cake recipe I am planning to make this weekend. I loved the way you incorporated the cake images with your writing for this piece. I look forward to eating cake with you sometime soon!
Thanks, Adrienne! Those cakes sound so good. I love morning glory muffins so a full cake would be even better! I have also borrowed the Benjamina Ebuehi cookbook and made that really good carrot cake but that is a good reminder, I should get it out again!
I thoroughly enjoyed this, as I’ve just finished actually baking a cake! :) It’s a recipe by Nigella Lawson – chocolate and raspberries. Always a winning combination and the perfect way to end tomorrow’s dinner party. My favourite cakes almost always feature chocolate. Here in Austria, we have the famous Sachertorte, which is simply heavenly. I’m one of the few who genuinely enjoys the original one from the Hotel Sacher in Vienna – it costs a fortune, but it’s worth every penny.
Well, as you can see, I could talk about cakes endlessly! This is yet another proof that your choice of topic was spot on. Sending love from this side of the world to the other,
K.
Thank you for your kind words, Katharina! I am not surprised we have this in common. I agree with you about the chocolate raspberry combination. And I am more determined than ever to come visit Austria now, I have tried Sachertorte here in Canada but I’m sure it pales in comparison to the original!! x