Cake Baking

 In Nigel Slater’s Toast, he recounts the merriment his family experienced during the annual Christmas cake baking; describing the beatific expression on his mother’s face as the “I’ve-just-baked-a-cake glow”. I’m sure this elation is something shared by an innumerable amount of bakers, be they amateurs or experts, and my family is no different. Thing is, we seldom bake cakes for any special occasion. Whenever theirs a birthday, be it mother’s, father’s, or my own, we’re usually in the East Village where the award winning Italian bakery Veniro’s is a hop-skip-and-a-jump away. The baking endeavor, which is usually undertaken by my mother, is an affair that happens sporadically, usually when our friend from Bedford stops by for a chat, and as such the recipes that she refers to aren’t too ambitious, but are delectable all the same. One cake that isn’t pictured here but has quickly become a favorite of mine is her Sunken Apple Cake, a wonderful blend of fruit and pastry that brings me back to teatimes with our German grandparents. Also my mom doesn’t swear a blue streak whenever she bakes either (dad will never live this down).