Cake is proof that there is a God.
Or at least something like compensatory justice.
Whether it's missing the train, getting promoted on a date, or not getting a raise, a piece of cake restores divine order.
It doesn't matter whether it's homemade or bought, the main thing is that it's delicious.
At least I see it like that.
Anna Lena Ripperger
Editor in Politics.
Follow I follow
Cake has to be buttery, nutty, chocolatey or fruity.
But nobody has to have stood at the mixing bowl themselves to make me happy with it.
That's why I'm always surprised when I witness a "cake confession".
What is that supposed to be?
I am sure that you are familiar with the situation that I am about to describe from your own experience.
It takes place among colleagues as well as among friends or at family reunions.
Most of the time it goes something like this:
Those present are delighted with the cake that is in front of them - a change from everyday (work) life, an unexpected dessert, an opportunity to snack and chat.
But the founder cannot relax.
At least not before the one sentence has fallen: "But it's not homemade." Sometimes this confession sounds more warning ("Don't expect too much"), sometimes more contrite ("Sorry, I didn't have time to bake"), sometimes downright guilty ("I know, store-bought cake is as styleless as flowers from the gas station").
Bought cake is tainted with lovelessness
Sometimes the cake confessions are also triggered.
A word of thanks or praise is enough to make non-bakers throw themselves in the dust.
Sometimes, however, the confessions are also extorted by the only superficially harmless question: "Is it homemade?"
But no matter how the cake confessions come about - they are always based on the same culinary value system.
And in that, bought cake is synonymous with lack of love, with contempt for one's neighbor, if not for all good manners.
There is no longer a distinction between cheesecake from the confectioner, Bundt cake from the bakery or cherry crumble from the supermarket.
They all have the blemish of mammon, of capitalistically mediated enjoyment.
Cake has to be baked by yourself, that's the moral imperative in us.
And yet – hand on heart – each of us has eaten really bad homemade cakes.
In any case, I can well remember moments when I would have liked to have disposed of the bitten piece directly in the nearest garbage can.
And hardly anyone would come up with the idea of serving their guests home-brewed beer or goat's camembert from their own production.
In a highly specialized world, why not leave cake baking to professionals?
The fact that the standard for cakes is completely different probably also has to do with the widespread assumption that – in contrast to handling malting barley or rennet – it is easy to bake.
Chemistry and physics also play a role in cake baking that should not be underestimated.
Anyone who has ever had a cake collapse completely after baking knows that.
Buying cakes is work too
Buying a good cake is anything but trivial.
It starts with the search for a bakery or confectionery whose products are so good that you would like to share them with others.
You can easily spend several weeks in a big city – even if you work your way along relevant Internet guides (“Top 10 patisseries – Berlin’s finest tarts, tartlets & co.” or “About Frankfurt – brutally delicious cake”).
And when you've finally found the confectioner you trust, you also have to be willing to invest a not inconsiderable sum - buying cakes is really expensive, especially for larger groups.
You pay 20 euros for six pieces of carrot cake, and sometimes more than 50 for a whole covered apple pie. After all, the cake has to be ordered and picked up.
That such an investment of time and money is less valued than ten-minute muffins or mug cake is unfair.
If this cake-shaming is possibly still based on some old ideal of "the good housewife", even more so.
That's why it's high time to rid store-bought cake of its stigma.
And at the next family gathering to say with complete confidence: "Yes, it's bought."