A Cake Can be Anything

There is always more than one perspective when it comes to creating good food. Some even come with a cherry on top.

When I started this blog, the original idea was to write a cookbook. The blog was something that evolved from that, because certain things work in a book – and others don’t.

In my original draft of the book, the chapter on baking was going to be called ‘Baking Unnerved’. Because that’s how I used to feel about baking. There was this idea that baking was a complex process that had to be done ‘by the book’. You know, follow the beaten path. Which is not really my way, because when it comes to creating food, I am a bit of an off-roader. You may have noticed.

It was only when we came across the Vux [‘Place with a View: Vux, Berlin’] that I realized that baking cakes can be anything you want it to be. At that time we had VUX cake for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Sometimes even for tea. Not that we ate cake all the time, but every piece of VUX cake was (and still is) a regular meal. Fresh, high quality, satisfying eat. Excellent food in the shape of a piece of cake.

The ingredients they used were plant-based, of course, because VUX is a cafe run by a couple who are passionate about vegan food. But those same ingredients, I realized, are exactly the ingredients you would find in a plant-based pasta dish. Huh, I thought, this is fascinating.

Later, when we changed our daily diet because we had to (family health issues), I picked up on this revelation. Since we were not ready to give up cake just because large amounts of sugar, fat and standard flour were off the menu, we changed our perspective. The initial starting point just shifted slightly: Let’s create a piece of food that has the benefits and the feel of a cake.

Now that was something I could work with. I started looking for flavor combinations that worked well together, like chocolate and berry. Then I thought about components that would make up different parts of a classic cake. You know: base and top or frosting. Granted, not everything worked right from the start. And some concepts had to be reworked from the ground up. Literally. I turned one cake completely upside down to make it work.

I still believe there is an art to baking. One that I have yet to fully master, but that is not the point. A cake can be anything: a regular meal, a way to welcome guests, a gift, part of a culture, a profound philosophy in itself. Just start baking in search of good food. You’ll find the way.

Let’s create a piece of food that has the benefits and the feel of a cake.

Side Notes:

• By the way, I’m still writing the cookbook-or rather, I started working on it again, since the blog got me part of the way.
• I have already reflected on the philosophy behind cake before in [‘Culture Re-baked’].