The past week felt like a month: So many meetings, so many jaw-dropping, face-palm-inducing news headlines, so much sadness and confusion and anxiety jostling about inside this little human apparatus. Of course, it hans’t just been this week. In truth, i’ve spent a good deal of time this entire year paying attention to the many things that caused me to feel afraid, the many situations I described as “scary”. There have been a not insignificant number of them: uncomfortable conversations with family; unexpected political outcomes; uncertain romantic situations.
When I was young and afraid (new memoir title?), my parents would tell me to repeat the mantra, “I live in a safe world,” any time I was scared. Though I applaud, and am eternally grateful for, their desire to immure me in a fantasia of security, I know now, as an adult, I cannot “safe world” mantra myself out of danger. Or perhaps I can, but not by the power of mantra alone. I must take the necessary actions to ensure my own safety, whether that means walking in the middle of a city street at night in order to keep myself fully lit, or summoning the psychospiritual strength to ask for what I need in relationship. Now, I find that as long as I can take clear steps to ward off the lurking fog of fear, the anxiety stays at bay.
And then of course, there are the little rituals I do at home that make all the difference: Making tea, taking a bath, anointing my chest and forehead with essential oil, breathing. Slowing down. Watching Gilmore Girls. Doing whatever the f*ck I want. As a very wise friend wrote to me this week, “F*ck ‘em! That’s my mantra right now. It doesn’t make anything better, but it feels good to say.” I couldn’t agree more. Which brings me to cake toast.
This is the official launch of my campaign for Cake Toast to Fight Anxiety, or Cake Toasts for Safety, or Cake Toast for Bruised Hearts, or Cake Toast for President. Welcome. Get cozy. Grab a mug of tea. Today, on five different cake toast oases around the internet, Michelle, Alana, Molly, Stephanie, and I have converged to assuage your woes via the powers of carbs, sugar, creamy stuff, and toasters. I know. This is music to your ears.
A month or so ago, the ever-brilliant Molly of my name is yeh and Stephanie of I Am a Food Blog shared an idea: What if we dedicated a whole day to cake toast? You know, cake toast—when you toast a loaf cake and then slather stuff on it. YES. Nothing has been more right since the days when, “I live in a safe world” still felt true. And then I discovered this grapefruit and earl grey bread recipe in my exceptionally talented friend Irvin Lin’s new cookbook Marbled, Swirled, and Layered.
Irvin swirls together a light and tangy grapefruit batter with a delicately floral Earl Grey tea batter for a gorgeously fragrant, not-too-sweet loaf. The aroma emerging from your oven while this baby bakes is enough to make you believe any world that smells this divine must inherently be safe.
What to slather on top? The batter uses sour cream for richness and tang, and I thought a honeyed, zested version would go exceptionally well as our cake toast frosting.
So why toast your cake before eating it? Not only does the toasting provide warmth, leading to a much cozier eating experience, the added texture creates a far more fun chewing adventure. Crunchy edges plus a tender interior crumb equals true mouth joy. Plus as many dollops and shmears of creamy stuff as you need to feel safe. I give you permission.
And in case you needed a few more cake toast security blankets, Alana, Michelle, Molly, and Stephanie have you covered:
Alana’s Chocolate Gingerbread Cake Toast
Michelle’s Yellow Cake Toast
Molly’s Ras el Hanout Loaf Cake Toast with Yogurt and Sesame Sprinkles
Stephanie’s Angel Food Cake Toast
Recipe reprinted with permission of the author and publisher from Marbled, Swirled, and Layered by Irvin Lin, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2016.
GRAPEFRUIT & EARL GREY BREAD (+ CAKE TOAST!).
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- zest of 1 ruby red grapefruit, plus 2/3 cup ruby red grapefruit juice (from about 1 medium grapefruit)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ½ Cups (350g) all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup (140g) sour cream
- 1 tablespoon Earl Grey tea leaves from 2 or 3 tea bags
- 1 teaspoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
honey grapefruit cream (my recipe)
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 teaspoons grapefruit zest
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Generously coat a 5 x 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom and long sides with a piece of parchment paper, with 1 inch of the paper hanging over the sides of the pan.
- Combine the sugar, oil, vanilla, and grapefruit zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until the ingredients are incorporated completely and uniform in color. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate between additions. Add the baking powder, salt, and baking soda, then beat to incorporate completely. Add the grapefruit juice and beat to incorporate.
- Add the flour and blend on low speed until the flour is incorporated. Add the sour cream and beat until incorporated. Scoop one-quarter of the batter into a medium bowl and stir in the tea leaves and cocoa powder until uniform in color. Pour half the plain grapefruit batter into the pan, then half the Earl Grey batter, then the rest of the grapefruit batter and the rest of the Earl Grey batter. Using a butter knife, swirl the batter together a few times, making “figure eight” motions in the batter.
- Bake until a skewer or toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before using the parchment paper overhand to lift the loaf out of the pan and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the loaf cools, make the honey grapefruit cream for your cake toast. Swirl honey and 1 teaspoon of grapefruit zest into sour cream, reserving the second teaspoon of zest to garnish. Cover, and place in the fridge while the loaf cools.
- Once the loaf has cooled, slice thickly, and toast your slices to desired level of cozy toastiness. Top with dollops of honey grapefruit cream and grapefruit zest, and serve immediately.
