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A slice of history hidden within sponge cake
The little boy rubbed his nose against the bakery window, with the hope that the inviting smell of the freshly baked cakes would by magic enter his mouth.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
The floods had wreaked havoc in Palakkad and a charity home there was dependent on well-wishers for their stock of daily essentials for the children. Krishna knew that he could just wish and long for a piece of cake, but his dream to bite into it would probably not come true.Â
After going back to his room in the home, he sat quietly in the huge dormitory thinking of the movie they had been shown as a Christmas treat. Santa Claus had struck a chord in his heart and he could not get the jolly old’ man out of his mind.Â
Before sleeping that night, he knelt down and prayed aloud to Santa. With folded hands and tears streaming down his face, he prayed and wished for some cake, chicken biryani and sweet biscuits for Christmas. If he got toys and parents, that would be a bonus, but cake was the priority. With his face covered with dried up tears, he slept like a little angel. Their ward’s matron, a sweet old lady, stood by his bedside and said a special prayer for this boy’s wish to come true.
The next morning, Krishna finished his breakfast and with his friends headed to the playground as it was vacation time. As orphans, their whole world was the charity home and the shared affection. As he started running, the matron in charge of the orphanage called out to him from the office. For a minute Krishna got scared, wondering if he had committed some wrong deed.
He entered the office to find a strange couple sitting there with big smiles. The matron at once told him what a lucky boy he was and how his prayers had sent him new parents — he was going to have a new home. The strange lady got up, came close to him and hugged him with so much warmth that tears of joy started flowing down his cheeks. The good-looking gentleman handed him a big basket and he opened it with great excitement to see it filled with cakes and sweets of all kind. So Santa Claus and God had heard his pray and the joy he felt made up for all the years of want.
The only request he made to his new parents was to let him celebrate Christmas at the orphanage with his friends and that they should treat everyone to cakes and biryani. Thus Santa and joy entered this orphanage with cakes and bakes, sweets and joy. Bridget White, my friend and I had made sure that we baked the best cakes to send to them as the couple who adopted Krishna were close friends of ours from Chennai.
Sharing the recipe of the simple Christmas vanilla cake or sponge cake that we sent, Bridget White who is an expert on Anglo-Indian cuisine also shares the history behind it. It was a man from Thalasserry, Kerala, who baked India’s first plum cake, or Christmas cake, in 1883. Three years prior to that, Mambally Bapu, a local businessman used to ship milk, tea and bread to British troops in Egypt. He’d visited Burma and learnt everything about baking and biscuit-making and came back to Kerala to set up a bakery called Royal Biscuit Factory. His was the only bakery in India back then.Â
He started by using toddy for fermenting, until he got yeast from England. In 1883, inspired by an imported plum cake, he baked a similar kind in India after learning the recipe from an Englishman named Brown. Bapu’s plum cakes and his sponge cakes became a rage soon, and he was declared as the best baker. The branches of the Royal Biscuit Factory are all over Kerala today.
Sponge Cake With Butter Icing
Prep time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 45 min
Calories per slice: 290 calories
Ingredients
250 grams refined flour or maida
300 grams powdered sugar
250 grams butter
4 eggs, beaten well
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Method
- Sift the flour and baking powder together.
- Cream the butter and sugar together.
- Add the beaten eggs and vanilla essence and mix well.
- Fold in the flour a little at a time.
- Add milk if the mixture is too thick.
- Pour into a greased and floured cake tin and bake for 40 to 45 minutes till the cake is done.
Butter Icing
- Beat 200 grams butter and 500 grams icing sugar together until creamy.
- Add 2 teaspoons vanilla essence and 2 drops pink or green food colour. Using a spatula, cover the cake with the butter icing.
- Then with a wet fork make soft peaks across the surface of the icing. Decorate as desired.
Kitchen Tip
- Getting ready in advance is the key. Marinate, cure, slice, and get the chopping done on the days before. On the day of the festival, just mix it all up and cook
- Make vegetables the star — cut them differently from one another and cook in varying waysÂ
- The best tip I can give is get everyone involved! Christmas is about family, so delegate different duties to each family member. It creates togetherness and bonding
— Chef Ramaa Shanker is the author of Festive Offerings to the Gods: Divine Soul Recipes
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