Daisy's 'Never Quite Finished' Cake

One of my first memories is baking with my mum, usually resenting her unfavourable addition of desiccated coconut to our otherwise ‘perfect’ cake. But in the making, creating and sharing of cake, I would argue, that there becomes a connection between family and cake. So, instead of just writing about the experience of cake for others, I decided to give it a go myself. I used the recipe for Victoria Sandwich cake taken from The Great British Bake Off cookbook. However, the recipe does not use a buttercream for the filling and instead uses a whipped double cream, a variation I made due to my own preference and my family’s sweet tooth. 

For the sponge:

• 165g Caster Sugar (unfortunately I only had granulated)
• 165g Butter
• 165g Self Raising flour
•  3 Medium eggs
•  1 tsp of Vanilla Essence (I do this to taste)
• 1 tbsp Milk (or by eye)

     Utensils:

• Weighing scales
• Sieve
• Baking Tin(s)
•  Mixing Bowl
•  Spoon (I am an avid believer in the wooden spoon as the only acceptable stirring utensil)
• Any number of cutlery (for any hitches along the way)

Method:

As I am not a fan of the ‘all in one’ method, I first start by creaming the butter and sugar together.

* Weigh the butter before the sugar so it sticks to the remnants of the butter, making it easier to scrape everything out so that no ingredients are wasted.

Next, slowly add the beaten egg.
*I always beat the egg until it creates a ‘froth’ at the top as I have found it creates a lighter mixture.
*If you find you add too much egg and it begins to look like (as Mum would say) ‘curds and whey’, sift in a little of the flour as it will bring the mixture back together again.

 Then, sift the flour into the mixture and fold it in to bring the mixture together.

*Again I would do this bit by bit as the flour can create a mess if too much is added at once.

Then, add the milk and vanilla essence. Separate into two tins and cook in oven for around 20 minutes on Gas mark 4, or until the sponge is golden brown and spongy

* If you are unsure whether the cake is cooked, put a clean knife into the middle of the sponge, if it comes out clean with no raw mixture on it, it is done!

Time to Decorate:

For the buttercream, I used an online source and halved the ingredients:

• 300g Icing sugar
• 125g Butter
•  Vanilla essence
• 1 Tbsp Milk

I also used:

• Raspberry seedless jam
• Fruit (as desired)

Method:

To make the buttercream I went against my own rules and used my mum’s food processor. However, this didn’t work out exactly as planned as I put too much milk in, leading to a rather runny, albeit extremely smooth mixture.

I put the buttercream on one sponge and the jam on the other, carefully sandwiching them together. This was not the most elegant of cakes, best to think of it as ‘home-made’ rather than patisserie standard.

I then scattered the fruit at my own whim which turned out to have an extremely limited (but very real) pattern.

Next came the 'finishing touch', a lavish amount of left over icing sugar dusted over the top, because who could display cake without it?

Other than the photos that follow this post, that is essentially how I made my own cake. I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe take some of these ideas into your own baking adventures.

Because no British inspired cake is truly meaningful without a cup of tea to accompany it.

Preserving the Family Through Cake

Below are examples extracted from Edna Staebler's Food That Really Schmecks: Mennonite Country Cooking as Prepared by My Mennonite Friend Bevvy Martin, My Mother and Other Fine Cooks (2006). In this post, I want to explore the language used in the recipes for cake and the intrinsic link to memory and family that can be found within this. 

In this example, it appears clear that Staebler links back to a memory through the link to food. This can be seen within cookbooks and it appears clear that it is comes from a place of warmth. When considering the effect on the reader it arguably creates a comfortable environment which we can relate to and more importantly feel safe and at home in, a trait I would argue is only found within home bakes and cannot be replicated in cafes. The name of the cake is interesting, it is called “Mother’s Magic”. By referring to it as her "Mothers" implies that she has made it distinctly different, perhaps she has changed quantities of ingredients but it could also be a link back to a name she gave the recipe in childhood. Also, the idea that it is ‘magic’ is both linked to the childlike memory and also makes it appear special and somehow unique in the reader's mind. The idea that her mother was “mortified” is extremely interesting because it is both embarrassing that her child should refuse on the basis that it is not hers, although it also appears to be an inadvertent compliment to the mother. But more importantly, it is humorous that she likes it to “go down in the middle like taffy” because according to BBC goodfood when referring to a similar recipe, it states: “Resist taking a peek beforehand; the cake will sink if the oven temperature drops too quickly before it's cooked through.” Clearly then, this is a mistake her mother makes and it is not supposed to have this trait, revealing that her mother is not really the best cook, and creating her embarrassment. But the childlike perspective on this is that she appears to enjoy the cake more when it is undercooked and perhaps this is not because it tastes distinctly better, but that perhaps by her mother making it, it creates a 'magic' that cannot be recreated by anyone else. 

This recipe is equally charming in its approach, the conversational tone that the reader experiences here allows us into the home of the baker and could reflect the mothering role that the cookbook gives us. I also really like the variations that are given for the recipe, for example: "Mother's aunt's directions say the cake should be baked for 3 hours, but mother doesn't think it takes that long". This is obviously humorous because as the recipe above proves, the mother does not always bake cakes to completion. But it is also interesting because it demonstrates a changing of the recipe through time and the variations that each person makes over generations. By noting these changes, I think Staebler effectively preserves the person she knew in the pages of the cookbook. The use of the first person narrative also allows us to be taken into this world and allows some freedom: “you can put in more fruit” but also restrictions: “but not less than 1 cup”. By doing this, it could be argued to demonstrate a real mother-child relationship. By allowing some flexibility she allows an exploration into the kitchen rather than regimented quotidian baking. 

In this way, this cookbook not only recites a recipe but in some way it encapsulates a life within the kitchen and Edna captures her experiences and memories of her mother.