last year everyone went crazy over cupcakes. The latest fad is a cake with beetroot juice and cream cheese. Julia Roberts once had it at a movie wedding, discovered Shana Maria Verghis
Parents have lured their kids to eat grotty spinach, by selling them the image of Popeye the Sailor, and his power-punch.
I wonder what they would have to do, to wean them off large, tempting slices of calorie-laden red velvet cake! I’ve already noticed that a handful of places — and I mean barely any — including one place in M-Block — have begun to place it on their shelves.
I was sold the last hunk of deep red sponge with layers of roux icing at one Chinese food chain outlet, which has added a cold-shelf that is filled with key lime tart and several other desserts.
Red velvet cake is not Chinese fare, in any dimension. It’s actually very American.
So I have no idea what it was doing there, except that Chinese restaurants in Delhi tend to be very unimaginative when it comes to their sweet list. There’s usually date and fig rolls, and something with ice-cream on most of them.
lately I’ve been encountering more variety. But then so has the average Delhiite like me, with a sweet tooth. I mean it was barely less than seven or eight years ago, when the commonest dessert in the capital, was Black Forest sponge. Or White Forest sponge.
Plus the ubiquitous (what a boring, heavy word!) chocolate brownie. Or a date and walnut pie.
In fact, these days I think these ‘objects of desire’ are most popular with folk here for whom one bite into any of the cakes takes them back to their childhood.
I think the advent of foreign desserts in bakeries and restaurants, has probably (I’m hazarding a guess), has just as much to do with the economy opening up and what have you.
I mean how far long into the past can you to your mind back to local bananofee pie than the kind they serve at The Big Chill. Or something made at home.
Most of the ingredients for gateauxs, souffles, tarts and cheesecakes weren’t available earlier.
You usually improvised with salty Amul butter and Dalda.
The red velvet cake I read, was a product of an impoverished period, the second world war. When beetroot juice that had been boiled was used in the cake mix, because it kept moisture in.
You can still locate old posters sold during the Great Depression advertising extracts and food colouring by a Texas-based company called Adams which did a lot to popularise the cake.
The topping is usually cheese. Cream cheese. Or the aforementioned roux.
The cake we had was iced. And its got a soft texture, though its got a hardish,pasty look.
It is credited with having originated from the American south. However, that part of US, does not, apparently use beetroots. And there are several recipe variations including one from the Waldorf-Astoria.
I’ve watched it being consumed in various Hollywood films — making a change from the tubs of ice-cream that people seem to be having a lot.
A chic-flick called Steel Magnolias (1989) set in the south of the United States featured a caste of stalwart actresses, including a young Julia Roberts.
In the film she’s got an ailment and has a romantic, unhappy ending. But before that happens she gets married and her cake is made of red velvet. So it actually was to die for.
Because they laid her in a coffin shortly after! They’ve also got lines of cupcakes with this colour. You could order them places like Elma’s Bake Box in Hauz Khas village and The Bake Box. Incidentally cupcakes were last year’s major fad.