Lurve the Cake!

"It's your birthday party today," I told my newly minted two-year-old.

This statement didn't elicit excitement about presents or friends or balloons. Nope, the words he dreamily spoke as his eyes lit up?

"Birthday cake!"

It made me smile too.

Munchkin: August soon developed a sweet tooth like his Mummy (and Daddy, to be fair!)

I once floated the idea that my quarters in heaven would consist of regular picnics on rugs, with drinks poured from fine tea sets and the devouring of many exquisite cakes.

I love cake. There's something about the fluffy simpleness of sugar, flour, butter, egg, milk and vanilla essence topped with a layer of icing sugar and more essence that makes the heart sing. And that's before you start hitting the unbeatable flavours of banana with caramel frosting or carrot cake with cream cheese. And that's not even to mention coconut with passionfruit, lemon drizzle, rosewater sponge, or dirty old chocolate mud cake.

Little Britain: Marjorie Dawes had a soft spot for cake.

I'd always be the first to counter people's claims of "that's too sweet" with "there's no such thing". It's a rare moment if you ever hear me turning down a sugary treat.

Mum might have something to do with my sweet cravings, she admits she scoffed a fair amount of lollies while I was in utero. It's likely I passed those genes onto my son. It didn't help that the Fairfax features desk kept a steady supply of Cadbury and Griffins packets throughout my final trimester. With my second pregnancy, I am equally likely to be passing on some sugary heritage. Being a stay-at-home mum, I have the added bonus/conundrum of having access to baking supplies...

But surely 'craving' is a word pregnant women conjured up to justify all the junk they wanted to consume to satiate those constant hunger pangs. Except of course if you're among the weird ones who crave such non-edibles as tyre rubber and freezer frost. That's plain inexplicable. 

In order to justify my sweetened disposition, let me take you on a little history tour. During high school I developed an unnamed, un-diagnosed bout of social nerves which basically meant I couldn't eat around people who weren't family or really good friends. Or eat before a party. Or eat at a party. Or eat when people were over. Or eat when I knew my boyfriend was coming over. Or eat if the phone rang and it was for me (I kid you not).

The immense relief that I felt when my hormones/nerves/teen angst subsided so that I could enjoy food in the company of others without feeling the need to hurl again was - exquisite. Some would say I pulled a complete 360, tucking into seconds and splurging on chocolate bars and biscuits. I owned my new nickname "Hungus" with pride. I ate it all and I stayed slim (before I hit 25 anyway).

Of course, a part of me was always a hungus and here's why. Growing up as one of five, I soon learned the true meaning of "snooze, ya lose". The last up at the breakfast table missed out on the best cereal. The last to finish their dinner missed out on another slice of garlic bread or Yorkshire Pudding. There was plenty of food to go around, but heck, if it was what everyone else wanted, then you had better get in quick. So learned to eat up and keep my eyes on my plate and everyone else's fingers. 

On top of this, Mum was a baking fiend who loved birthdays. So every year, all five children, two parents and three pets (yes, even the pets) were treated to a themed birthday cake. Every month it seemed there was a new birthday cake to be had, usually madeira with butter frosting. I still savour the smell of burning candles which reminds me of a happy birthday.

I first realised my family's customs were a tad unusual when my schoolmates noticed me eating a slice of chocolate cake with almost fluorescent orange icing at lunch. "What IS that?" they oggled. "Oh you know, just my cat's birthday cake," I shrugged. "Doesn't your cat have a birthday?"

Cat Birthday: My childhood family cat, Inky, was partial to the odd slice of chocolate cake.

This draws me to the point of this blog which is well, there isn't much point, except for my need to confess my die-hard cravings for cake in the hope that you will humour me and indulge with me lest I develop a complex. And it's only right that I finish off this piece with a well-tested recipe of mine ala Cadbury. True, it is more of a torte than a cake, (gluten free, anyone?) but this baby always goes down a treat. Enjoy.

Chocolate Almond Date Torte

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

TORTE

250g Cadbury® Dark Cooking Chocolate 

250g unblanched almonds 

250g dates, stoned 

6 egg whites 

125g caster sugar

DECORATION

Whipped cream 

Cadbury® Dark Cooking Chocolate cut into chunky pieces 

Whole or slivered almonds, toasted 

Fresh strawberries

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the chocolate and almonds in a food processor and chop into chunky pieces.

Finely chop the dates and stir into the chocolate mixture.

2.  In a large bowl beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.

Gradually add the caster sugar and beat well.

3.  Fold in the chocolate, almond and date mixture.

4.  Pour into a greased foil-lined 23 cm round cake pan. Bake

for 45 minutes.

5.  Open the oven door slightly to allow the torte to cool.

When cool, remove from the oven and place in the

refrigerator to chill. Do not remove the torte from the pan.

6.  To serve, spread the top of the torte with whipped cream

and decorate with chunks of milk chocolate, toasted

almonds and strawberries.