Grandmas' Christmas cake

For years my grandmother has made all the Christmas deserts and ever year I tried to get her recipes but she always refused even threatening to take her secrets to the grave, and I tell you what she wasn’t kidding. She had the lock box that contained her recipes buried with her. Now a week before Christmas I sat there racking my brain trying to figure out the ingredients to her most famous dessert, grandmas Christmas cake. Even my mom could not figure it out and she had eaten it every year since she was a young child. I tried to remember back to last Christmas to see if I could remember the flavor profile, but nothing came to me and everything that I tried never tasted right. My sister Bethany thinks that I am crazy and that I should just give up but, how could I? Christmas just would not be the same without grandmas Christmas cake. I felt absolutely defeated I even tried praying, as if the ghost of deceased grandmother would show up in my kitchen and tell me how she made her most prized Christmas confection.

“Think Jasmine.” I scolded myself, I took a minute to look around my kitchen looked like a bomb went off. There was flour and icing sugar everywhere, I took a deep breath and spent the next two hours cleaning my kitchen. My head ached I knew that I needed to call it a day and pick up where I left off the following day and hopefully it would come to me.

 The next morning, I got up bright and early and tried once again to see if I could remember the cake recipe, still my mind was blank. I went to my baking cupboard and pulled out flour, baking power and coco powder and eggs and milk from the fridge typical things that you would use to make a cake as well whip cream to make the frosting, I pulled out some white chocolate. I remember her cake being sweet and knew that white chocolate was sweeter than milk chocolate. An hour later I was done and even though my cake was delicious it tasted nothing like my grandma’s cake. And just like the day before, five cakes later I was not even close to having anything that tastes remotely close to my grandmas’ cake. I came to the conclusion that this may not be a possibility and that was okay because if I could not duplicate my grandmothers cake, I would make one of my own. My mother said that although it would be nice to have grandmas’ cake not to kill myself trying to get the recipe right. I even called my auntie Edna, my grandmothers last remaining sister she didn’t even have it, why in the world would not what to share something that amazing with the world. She said the same thing as my mother and sister, that there was no way replicate it. However, she had some frozen from last Christmas, lord only knows why but she did say that she would bring it straight over and we could try to figure it out together. Half an hour later we were standing in my kitchen trying to figure out the missing ingredient, tasting it and then the one I had made this morning I realized that I was closer then I thought . Then I remembered that my grandma was highly allergic to eggs, and what every she substituted for the egg gave the cake a sweet taste. I quickly grabbed my phone.

“Siri what can you use as an egg substitute?”

“Eggs can be substituted with apple sauce. You need to substitute ½ cup of apple sauce for 2 eggs.”

That would explain why no one could get her desserts right, she used apple sauce instead of eggs.

“Thank you, auntie, you are a life saver. All I have to do is take out the white chocolate and I have her recipe.”

My auntie gave me a hug and headed out the door before she left, I made her promise that she wouldn’t say anything to any one I wanted it to be a surprise. She agreed that it would be a genuinely nice Christmas treat for everyone. And sure, enough I nailed it. I closed my eyes and pictured my grandmother smiling down on me from heaven. I quickly wrote it down before I forgot and then twelve more times for every member of family that would be there on Christmas Eve by time I was done my hands where so sore, I was kicking myself for not buying that scanner instead of waiting for a boxing day sale.

Christmas Eve finally came, I waited in impatient anticipation while everyone had finished their dinner. I ate mine so fast I didn’t even taste it, my family all looked at me like I had lost my mind and maybe I had, but you would to if you baked over a dozen cakes all to find out that the missing ingredient was apple sauce. I helped my mother table and then told her to go sit down. 

“Auntie Edna would you help me please.” She took the blind folds from my hands and began to hand them out. Although very confused each one of my family took on and placed it on their lap.

“Can everyone please put on their bind folds, I know that sounds crazy but please indulge me.” I carefully put the cake in the middle of the table and told everyone to remove their blind folds.

“Oh Jasmine, it looks just like moms’ cake.” She wiped a tear from her eyes and gave me a hug. “Oh, honey please don’t get upset if it doesn’t taste like it though, no one has cracked her secret.”

Everyone stared nervously at the piece of cake that sat in front of them, no one wanted to go first for fear of hurting my feelings. Finally, my sister stepped up and took the first bite. Her eyes light up in surprise and delight.

“Come on you really need to try this.”

Everyone’s reactions where the same my uncle Marvin was the most impressed, he could not even figure it out and he was a professional baker.

“I was about to give up then I called auntie Edna who happened to have a frozen piece of Grandmas’ cake, I am not sure why, but It really helped. At first, I thought it was white chocolate that made it so sweet but when we tried it, I knew that was not it. Then I remembered that grandma was allergic to eggs, so I goggled the what is a possible substitute for eggs and came with the answer which is in this envelope, I spend so much time trying to figure out the mystery of the cake that I didn’t make it out to get Christmas presents so I thought this was the next best thing.” I held my breath as everyone opened their envelopes. There where tears all around and plenty of hugs, even my cousin Andrew who until this day I thought was incapable of showing any emotion even shed a tear.

Every Christmas after that featured Grandma’s Christmas cake, it was such a big hit at my uncle’s bakery that he started selling it all year around. People from all around asked for the recipe but his answer to everyone was that it was a family recipe, and he was going to take it to the grave