For April’s installment of the Cake Slice, the bakers voted for a tea based cake. Chai tea was the cake’s main flavor components. Chai tea literally translates to “spiced tea”; some of the spices found in chai tea can be pepper, cardamom, and cinnamon. A common practice is to mix the tea with milk to make lattes. That is exactly what the recipe instructed to do.
The chai tea bags steeped in warm milk, were cooled and then used in the cake mix. The tea tinted the cake to a lovely mushroom color. The recipe also called for more cinnamon and cardamom, which added pleasant warmth to the cake. The cake itself was light and airy, very much like a chiffon. Keeping with chai tradition, honey sweetens the cake's icing.
The recipe took a conventional cream cheese icing and added more “chai” flavors to it. To start, it called for honey as a sweetener. Make sure to use a very liquid honey to ensure that one gets an icing that will drizzle down the sides of the cake. I do not believe the honey I used had the fluidity called for in the recipe. I say this because I did not achieve the "icicle effect" on the sides of my cake, as the recipe stated I would.
Next, the recipe asked for fresh grated ginger. I did not have any fresh ginger, but I used dried ginger and the icing seemed unaffected. In the end, the exotic flavors in the cake and icing made this a wonderful cake. Definitely worthy of a second bake.
I was born and raised in the Midwest and try to live my life by showing appreciation for the simple things like: good food, health, love of family, and friends. And maybe it's those Midwestern values that draw me towards blue collar pastries.
For example, my father worked the steel mills of East Chicago until he retired. Our family was never one for fancy cakes and such. My favorite childhood memories involve cold winter mornings, hot cups of coffee, and splendid coffee cakes. I can still remember my mom telling me to add more milk to my coffee because it was too dark. I still enjoy coffee cake to this day, but the portions are smaller and occur less frequently.
I recently baked this lovely cake that is spiked with fresh apples, dark raisins, and walnuts. It's incredibly moist, hearty, and fills one's kitchen with a wonderful autumnal scent. It is a magnificent cake to start the morning off with, whether one drinks coffee or not.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines friendship as "...as distinctively personal relationship that is grounded in a concern on the part of each friend for the welfare of the other, for the other's sake, and that involves some degree of intimacy." The concept of comradeship has been on my mind for numerous months now. I have finally concluded that a wonderful friendship contains mutual caring, intimacy, and shared interests.
For me, mutual caring is the method that I use to say: “I love you”. While, I may not have the courage to tell one in person I try to make sure that the people I care about can feel it. I persistently try to give without ever expecting anything in return. Only when we offer without expectations can one truly enjoy the gift of honest camaraderie.
With certain people, friendship is instantaneously, like my friend K, E, and S. With You, I wanted to be your friend immediately. I found delight in the way you titled your head to the left with a crooked smile and giggled at my dumb jokes. That is why “I loved you”, but you also inspired me with your joys, successes, frustrations, and failures. I want to jump for joy when you are feeling bliss and hold your hand when you are sorrowful. Because I believe when life is disheartening and we can only feel our own misery is when our true friends come to our aid without asking.
Furthermore, it is during the arduous times that an intimacy develops between friends. You shared with me the difficulties of your life. My heart broke when you said all you wanted was “unconditional love”. Like a good ally, I promised you exactly that ...unconditional love. I am sorry that I failed you.
In the beginning of our friendship, I truly believed I was strong enough to weather any storms you had. I wanted to be your life preserver the way K, E, and S had been for me. You asked me not to let you go; but I did. Forgive me, for I was weak and let others influence me about you and I …regret it.
I will continue to believe in your ideas because you have promise and that is a beautiful quality in a friend. I will always remember lovingly how much you smiled when you talked about your dreams and aspirations. When you spoke, your eyes gleamed with happiness, as is if they could no longer contain the joy and pride you felt. I wish I could have captured that moment.
In addition, I should have disclosed to you that not only do we share a zeal for cooking; but also that we have the same family structure and up bringing. However, I was too scared to tell you. It is for those reasons that I do understand where you are coming from even if I cannot admit it aloud to myself.
In any case, I know you are strong enough and capable of overcoming any adversary because you are trained to do so. For I know that you have moved on, but I wanted you to know that you were right about everything concerning true friendship.
Finally, I baked this banana cake with you in mind. It is rich, buttery, and travels well. Should it need to trek many, many, many miles from here. It would be my pleasure to ship this cake anywhere ...just for you.
For April’s installment of the Cake Slice, the bakers voted for a tea based cake. Chai tea was the cake’s main flavor components. Chai tea literally translates to “spiced tea”; some of the spices found in chai tea can be pepper, cardamom, and cinnamon. A common practice is to mix the tea with milk to make lattes. That is exactly what the recipe instructed to do.
