Birthday cakes are special. They remind us that there are sweet and wonderful moments in life.
The first memorable birthday cake for me was a cake that was a pink gown with silver balls with a doll in it. I couldn’t wait to eat the cake so that I could get the doll, but only to find that the doll had straw legs (drinking straws).
Birthday cakes can be works of art. There was a cake shop in London that had the most amazing cakes in all shapes and forms. The cake that impressed me most was one in the shape of a yacht on the sea. I had no idea how the cakes in that shop tasted, but they were a sight to behold. I checked the internet, after decades the shop in Sloane Square is still there and still makes amazing custom cakes.
But great cakes don’t have to cost an arm and a leg, my brother, who loves history, took me to an old fashioned local bakery in Sunset Way which sells cakes just like the ones we used to have when we were children. They are affordable and bring back memories.
There are a few cakes that I will always remember like Lana’s blueberry cake and chocolate fudge cake and Angie The Choice’s yam cake and durian cake. They were special treats.
Yesterday while I was out, my mother said, “Let’s have some cake.” We went into Han’s and ordered a slice of no-frills American cheesecake to share. While my mother happily updated me on current affairs, I thought: Mmmm this cake is good! Incidentally, my mother who has always been a homemaker was also my first educator. She gave me a lesson on international trade when I was in kindergarten. It was about how rubber from the plantations in Malaysia was shipped to the UK and came back in different forms, like the rubber eraser that I was using.
More recently, most of my cake treats have been homemade. Someone at home asked me what I would like for my birthday dessert this year, I said jelly, thinking that it would be easy to make. I didn’t expect a jelly work of art in the shape of a cake. I named it Lena’s Jelly Delight.
Someone else surprised me with a homemade oreo cake. It’s Angie’s cake, but this time not from a shop but from someone called Angie, you wouldn’t be able to tell that it was homemade. It’s a WOW cake!
By Chayo, Homskil Editor 1, 9 January 2021
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