Chapter 1: The Journey of Cake Making

Creating cakes for Easter has become a delightful challenge for me, especially since I attended several pastry workshops. I've been honing my skills in mirror glazing and crafting monoportions, which are cakes designed to be enjoyed in a single serving. These treats are often quite intricate, requiring multiple steps of pouring, freezing, and repeating the process.

This year, inspired by a professional pastry chef's cookbook, I learned how to replicate a shock freezer at home. I also adjusted my ingredient quantities to avoid the overwhelming task of making hundreds of macaroons or multiple cakes of the same flavor. Ultimately, I ended up with five distinct cakes and monoportions. Although I had planned to make ptysie, I decided against it when I saw the amount of work already on my table.

One of my creations was a poppy seed cake with lemon Russell cream. Traditionally, poppy seed cakes are made with coffee or cocoa creams and often soaked in spirits, which I find inedible. This cake posed a challenge, but I aimed to create one that I could enjoy. My final spread included poppy seed cake, rose-raspberry cake, a nut-laden mazurek, babka, brownies, and 15 monoportions. Given my small family, most of these cakes were smaller than typical Polish cakes, which is why I skipped the ptysie.

The logistical challenge of baking with just two stove rings, a modest oven, and a full-time job required meticulous planning. I created a Gantt chart to map out when each component needed to be made, which tasks could be synchronized (like preparing lemon curd for both the Russell cream and the mazurek), and how to manage my limited kitchen equipment effectively.

The rose-raspberry cake features Bavarian cream, which I prepared for the second time. My first attempt, using it to fill ptysie, was disappointing due to the gelatin not providing the desired fluffiness. This time, however, the cream complemented the cake beautifully. I noted that letting the cake sit longer on the tray would have allowed excess glaze to drain, a lesson for my future endeavors.

The beauty of undertaking projects that span three days is that it shifts my perspective on simpler tasks. I can whip up a brownie for unexpected guests without losing focus on them, and the effort involved now feels more meaningful. Even though I reserve time-intensive baking for special occasions, it allows me to appreciate simpler desserts without feeling overwhelmed.

As I mixed the creams and loaded the dishwasher for the third time that day, I found myself pondering whether the bread I was kneading could sense my fatigue. Would the cream I was making taste different if my mind was preoccupied with rushing through the task instead of fully engaging with it? My intuition tells me it might.

These musings aligned with a book I began reading, The Enchanted Life: Unlocking the Magic of the Everyday by Sharon Blackie. Initially, I approached it with skepticism, fearing it would be another new age book filled with impractical advice. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the author's psychological and philosophical insights. She discusses the balance between transcending the material world and using it to connect with our environment. A memorable example she shares is about smelling bluebells; to perceive their scent, their molecules must enter our noses, essentially integrating them into our being.

She also touches on engaging with entities often deemed inanimate, like stones and bodies of water. Even before reading this, I had a habit of conversing with such elements, unaware of the deeper connections being formed.

I find myself humorously invoking the "Gods of Sourdough" each time I bake bread. What began as a lighthearted joke has transformed into a genuine ritual, as these deities seem to favor my efforts, even amidst my blunders. My ancestors operated a mill for several generations in the 1700s, and perhaps I've unwittingly tapped into the spirit of that heritage—after all, bread seems to respond well to respectful dialogue.

The video titled "Easter Bunny Cake" offers a delightful visual and instructional guide, showcasing a fun and creative approach to cake decorating. It highlights techniques that can enhance your baking experience and inspire your own Easter creations.