By Chloe Azoto '19 and Ms. Gordon
In Favor of Pie
By Chloe Azoto '19
There is power in identity; within it lies an underlying, interlocking network of strengths, weaknesses and ideals that represents the spirit of who we are.
Hardly a fool could be considered more symbolic of American tradition and identity than pie. For generations, the pie has sat on the table of quintessential Americana; it follows our history, from the earliest colonists to a dessert fixture at nearly any holiday party today. The pie stands as our nation incarnate: the heterogeneous mixings of both a golden, flaky crust and a combination of disparate ingredients made wonderful by their unified differences, emerging triumphant from the intense heat of an oven that is, of course, in degrees Fahrenheit.
Let us hearken back to a pie recipe that stands a bastion of its delicacy: pumpkin pie. There are some, errant in their thoughts, of course, who declaim a new, modernist take upon this classic in the form of pumpkin cake; I am here to prove these upstarts wrong.
Firstly, let us start with the fact that pumpkin pie provides a more diverse dining experience; the variation within the dish itself allows for a range of tastes to be satisfied. A flaky, buttery outside, paired with a smooth, spiced interior combine in a landscape of harmony. Can this effect be reproduced in a cake? Perhaps, but not in ways inherent to the dessert--while all this pleasure is intrinsic to your classic pumpkin pie, cake, in order to distinguish ints plane face, must adorn itself with frostings, fancy designs, whipped and iced creams: in shot, it must contort itself ten times over in order to begin to resemble the cool deliciousness of pumpkin pie.
It must also be said that pumpkin cake stands as a strange anomaly in the dessert world; as a challenger to its lauded cousin, pumpkin pie, it might be expected that pumpkin cake have some distinguishing trait to raise it above other kinds of cake, much like how pumpkin pie is known for its smooth texture and delicately spiced taste. Instead, however, pumpkin cake rudely and gauchely copy-pastes the trademark of pumpkin pie and attempts to stuff it into the generic cake model: fluffy, sweet, and stolen. Even worse, in order to identify itself as pumpkin in any way, pumpkin cake is frequently and tastelessly decorated with Halloween-y or Thanksgiving-themed adornments--unlike its pie counterpart, which acts as an identifiably unifying bridge between the two holidays, pumpkin cake is distastefully seasonal and unsubtly so.
Pumpkin cake is but an imposter in the world of dessert delights. It attempts to mimic what comes naturally to pumpkin pie: sleekness in design, authenticity of taste, and domination as an icon. Let cake remain as a birthday mainstay: for that, it is undoubtedly superior. But as a holiday fixture of the months of both October, November, and beyond? Let pumpkin pie do its job. Remember, it was Marie Antoinette who said, "Let them eat cake," but is it we who are American as pie.
In Favor of Cake
By Ms. Gordon
Perched on top of my kitchen cabinet is a poster featuring the words of the renowned chef and icon Julia Child. It says “A party without cake is just a meeting”; I could not agree more heartily.
Beyond the fact that cake--with its infinite variety of consistencies, toppings, and shapes--is a universal symbol of celebration and joy, cake is a part of our global evolution as a people. Originally, cake was a modification of bread, so you could accurately argue that cake has served as our literal “bread and butter” since ancient Greek and Roman times. Early American cowboys made eggless cakes over campfires, most likely imitating the tradition of Native Americans, who made cake out of cornmeal. Boxed cake mixes, invented during the Depression feed the starving masses, are now a grocery-aisle staple. It’s no wonder that in 2018, there are three different cake emojis in your phone library--more than any other dessert--and upwards of three cake-related reality TV shows (think “Cake Boss”, “Ace of Cakes”, “(Cup)Cake Wars”) to watch.
Cake is the dessert not just of our country’s people, but of “people” in general. You don’t need to wait for its ingredients to be “in season” to make it, you don’t need baking skills to create it, you don’t need tons of money to fund it, and it can feed many people at once. So it seems almost criminal to shun cake, especially around holiday time, in favor of any other dessert. For one, who doesn’t like cake? Why would cake be the hallmark of birthday festivities, weddings, and religious events if it were not universally well-liked? Who wouldn’t feel slighted if they were not offered some kind of cake for their birthday, wedding, anniversary, etc.? For another, cake is to a baker what a canvas is to an artist. You can “paint” the same sheet of cake with dozens of different frostings, toppings, and fruits. Cake erases the need to ask “what should we have for dessert?” because it can satisfy so many desires and cravings at once. It is the pizza of desserts.
In autumn, many argue in favor of pie as the superior dessert. Specifically, people would call it a travesty if the Thanksgiving table were not graced by the presence of a pumpkin pie. But when you think about it, the pie-making tradition stands on a shaky, outdated foundation. The surplus of edible fruits and vegetables that inspired pie-making when we were all still farmers no longer exists. Most pies are really just bottles of jam in edible bowls. Cake, meanwhile, is not only more universally symbolic of celebration, but is also no longer the time-consuming domestic task that it used to be. Logically, then, Thanksgiving, a wonderful holiday, deserves pumpkin cake, just like all the other holidays. Why would we choose to eat pie if we could eat a pumpkin cake with moist, cream-cheese frosting-adorned layers in a perfect combination of silky and fluffy? Let’s not let years of mindless tradition trick us into eating pumpkin pie, which is usually just pudding dressed-up in an often-burnt or overly crunchy crust.
It may be American tradition to eat pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, but it is also an American tradition to adapt and transform to satisfy the consumer, and for that, you need a good ‘ol cake.
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