I decided it was time for Italy to taste my somewhat self-proclaimed famous chocolate cake. A version of a cake I have made for the past 14 years. It must have been on one of the many rainy weekends in West Africa that E (my dear friend and fellow February baby) taught me how to make this cake. Come to think of it I have been baking for a while, from a very early age-from about the age of three according to my mother (that includes making sausage rolls with her). A more vivid memory of baking is set in West Africa. Just about every weekend for a year J,E,J and I would go to each other’s homes and either spend our weekend swimming outside or baking cupcakes and brownies when the violent West African thunderstorms would chase us indoors for a few hours.
Baking for me is a calming experience-sometimes. I enjoy baking cakes for others and the joy they have when they receive their special cake. I have wondered why people smile and are excited when they get a cake? Why do you get a cake on your birthday?
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| A blue birthday cake I made for my brother |
I decided to do some research on this significance. In Italian I would say: Cosa significance per la torta?
the research is on going but so far I have found that cakes are healing, and celebratory and a source of joy. One of my favourite books,"Baking Cakes in Kigali" by Gaile Parkin tells of the healing power of cakes in Rwanda after the 1994 Genocide. I know nothing about the lived experiences of genocide but I can relate to giving a cake to someone in a time when cake was a luxury.
During the darker days of the recent past I found myself baking a lot. Somehow the needed ingredients would be sourced: sugar, flour (bought in bulk from SA), milk (from a generous cow willing to share its milk, or powdered milk), eggs (fresh protein rich eggs from my aunt's layers), oil (high quality sunflower oil from my uncle) and if it was a super special cake some butter, well probably margarine. With all the ingredients ready you would then find yourself playing a game with the powers that be who decide how much electricity you have for a day. I found myself on numerous occasions waking up to bake cakes in the early hours of the morning as that is when I was be sure that I would have at least an hour of uninterrupted power supply. At times like this baking was far from calming, but rather a race against time with the electricity supply company (ZESA). I am so thankful though that I had the opportunity to bless others with these cakes. It brought smiles to the recipients’ faces and temporary escape from the reality of the everyday life.
“Let them eat cake” Marie Antoinette is thought to have told the starving French peasants this when they were crying for bread. Many have speculated that this snide comment and disassociated attitude influenced the onset of the French revolution.
Is cake really an elitist luxury that separates “us” from “them”? How much significance is there in cake? Does it really speak of politics and social economic states of people? Does cake really address issues of gender politics? At this moment I have mixed feelings about the discourses that surround cake, and the fact that I have cake and baked goods so often now, I no longer find myself asking those important questions. But I think I should. The questions will change my experiences with cakes, which I think is necessary especially while I live in Bra.
My university has several characters. Many gourmet cooks and baking enthusiasts. Cake and baked goods are no longer a super special thing, not the luxury that is alluded to by Marie Antoinette. In my little community of Bra there is cake or a baked good of some sort all the time from somewhere. The element of surprize and awe from getting a sugary treat almost gets forgotten as we (I speak for myself and possibly my classmates) know that a week will not go by without a sugary fix. It feels like déjà vu. In 2011 I lived with 3 friends. As the ladies of 105 we all had our birthdays in the space of 5 weeks so we had cake for dinner on several occasions. To honour the ladies of 105 and my loved ones who are fellow February babies Italy gets its first taste of my chocolate cake. Buon Compleanno!
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| The cake making process from the beginning to the final product |
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