Is Icing the Glue of the Family?

In his memoir, Toast: A Story of a Boy’s Hunger (2003), Slater is no stranger to revealing his mother’s kitchen failings. The extract I wanted to focus on is entitled “Christmas Cake” and it is centred on a memory of his mother. He recounts: “once a year there were Christmas puddings and cakes to be made. They were made with neither love nor joy. They simply had to be done. ‘I suppose I had better do the cake’ she sighed” (2). Baking is usually enjoyable but here is presented as an unfinished chore. It seems like it is done to keep up with tradition but his mother has no real interest in it. Slater’s mother also uses a mixer rather than her hands: “she was never the type to use her hands” (2). This appears somewhat detached, instead of using her hands which would imply she makes it with love, the machine adds a mechanical element. The idea that the machine reminds him of “a corpse from a coffin” (2) is humorous because it emphasises the idea that she only does it once a year. It is almost like he is comparing it to the ‘Day of the Dead’ tradition. The way that the recipe is stored is also interesting because it is in a recipe book, but is hand-written in “green biro” (2) implying that it is from a family member and therefore it has passed down through generations. It is not a published recipe but one that is closely connected to his family.

It is also surprising that although Slater’s mother does not enjoy the thought of baking, when she finishes she has a “I’ve-just-baked-a-cake glow” (3) which is endearing as she is proud of herself and her achievement, even though Slater later reveals that it “always sank in the middle” (3). Slater suggests: “cake holds a family together. I really believed it did… there was something about the way my mother put a cake on the table that made me feel that all is well. Safe. Secure. Unshakeable.” (3). I think this is the most important aspect in a child’s mind, and it forms the basis for what we think of as safe. I think the warmth of baking and the idea that they are comfortable both with full stomachs and content hearts is exactly what baking provides.

However, we do not escape completely unscathed by Slater, although he takes us on a trip down memory lane, he also attacks the senses with a hint of ammonia: “it’s a pity that there was always a passing breeze of ammonia” (4). We are allowed to smell the baking cake and the smells of Christmas but are then forced to endure the smell of Aunt Fanny. Although this is unpleasant, I believe it links to the Bakhtin’s model of the grotesque body because it isn’t so disgusting that we are compelled to stop reading. Instead, we are taken to the area and it is almost celebrated as a part of family life. I think Slater cleverly does this by adding humour, creating a character that is perhaps closer to the reality of aging than what we usually dare to delve into and is a real depiction of family, not the idealistic, but realistic. 

The image of family is demonstrated most in this passage: “baking a cake for your family to share, the stirring of cherries, currants, raisins, peel and brandy, brown sugar, butter, eggs and flour, for me the ultimate symbol of a mother’s love for her husband and kids, was reduced to something that simply had to be done” (4). This is a poignant moment as it appears like there is a lack of love for the baking and Slater links this to his mother’s love for him, although this is not the case. However, it is clear that these memories are inextricably linked to his memory of his mother, and perhaps may link to his mother’s deteriorating health. Finally, Slater states: “every home should smell of baking Christmas cake” (3). Slater enlists our senses, bringing us back to our own homes at Christmas and the warmth that is created by baking at home. I think this is the most important point of the passage for Slater, it is not important that his mother’s cake never turned out quite right but it is the memory that is essential for him.