For any celebratory or ceremonial occasion (some festive ones too), the setting is incomplete without the main dessert of “cake”. Originating from the Old Norse word “kaka”, among the desserts which has been adapted to the history of that era, cakes were initially started off as modifications to the regular flat breads. Gradually the breads became more elaborate and softer as evidenced by the origin of phrase, “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” (Let them eat cake) where brioche was a luxury bread enriched with butter and eggs. Since then it has been through a lot of history, transitioning in make through the era of the world wars, civil revolutionary years and even the great depression. It has even became a part of the superstitions, like for instance an old English belief of putting a fruit cake under your pillow would make you dream about the person you will marry.
The entertainment industry also felt it’s presence, basing a number of songs and few movies on it (even in the vernacular languages). However what fascinated me was the myth of Joan’s rainbow cake which I had recently seen in the movie “Salt and Pepper”. Here the protagonists in the movie bond over food and both of them bake the Joan’s rainbow cake simultaneously as the movie progresses.
As per the narrative, the cake is baked by a French lady Joan, who awaits the return of her husband who was in the army at war during the WWII(1939-1945). The soldier informed Joan about his arrival. To surprise her love on the day of his arrival, she baked a delicious strawberry cake and waited for him, but he never turned up. Although she was little disappointed, the next day Joan baked a pistachio cake, anticipating her love would return at least today, but the soldier did not return. She joined the cakes together with some whipped cream. Her wait continued into the third day when she made an orange cake. He still did not come. That night, she went to bed with a heavy heart. Next morning her love arrived bearing a gift of chocolates for his lady. She combined all the cakes she baked with cream. She then melted the chocolate and poured it over the cake, and then served it to her loved one. They ate it together in celebration of his return and their never ending love.
Despite the fact I am unable to ferret out and ascertain the proof of authenticity behind this tale, the whole idea of having a three layered cake with whipped cream and a chocolate dripping is nevertheless an irresistible delectable feast for all. Moreover, it’s the feeling that goes behind that cake that makes it special.
There have been many versions of the rainbow cake and many a time we come up with our own style during the baking. All the same, for every cake the pot of gold at the end of the baking is worth every attempt to create a masterpiece.
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