The joy of ugly cakes

Last week I stumbled upon a headline that made me pause mid-scroll Enough With the Ugly Cakes The op-ed published in The Cut on July was paired with a collage of ornate confections a baby-blue heart topped with glistening cherries a towering pastel creation flecked with rock candy and flowers and a pair of Victorian-style cakes done up in sugary shades of pink and yellow I assumed it was satire Or rage-bait Or both But the piece was earnest in its frustration The author lamented that modern cakes particularly those deemed chic enough for social media or a well-dressed birthday party had become overwrought and overdesigned The prices made my eyes water she wrote But after a while so did the cakes themselves What followed was a full-throated takedown of maximalist baking complete with aesthetic dismissals vintage monstrosities floral slop and a laundry list of visual offenses thick Lambeth piping bows glitter-dusted cherries frosting in excess and so-called shapeless mounds slathered with icing and rammed with bits of inedible flora The term Ugly Cakes rendered in all caps with evident disdain was the author s catchall for what she saw as a style gone off the rails But what the piece overlooked entirely was the intention and layered artistry behind these bakes The critique felt not just snobbish but oddly incurious a misreading of cakes that are at heart celebrations of happiness There s no denying that the author harbors strong feelings against Ugly Cakes But what s so distasteful about her writing is the lack of consideration awarded to the bakers she baselessly targets Direct links to bakers websites and Instagram feeds are scattered throughout the piece Yet there s no real acknowledgement of the labor or craftsmanship that goes into making these cakes no insight into the lengthy thought process behind formulating the perfect flavor combinations and no actual research done on the sourcing of ingredients that go in and on the cakes Related My perfect spring cake started with a box mix A great number of of the bakers who are targeted don t have their own brick-and-mortar bakeries Instead they run their business from commissaries or their home kitchen making them known as cottage bakers As explained by food writer and cake scholar KC Hysmith cottage bakers lack an established marketing organization that larger chain bakeries naturally have For these bakers having a strong social media presence and posting eye-catching photos of their baked goods is paramount when it comes to selling and expanding their business So to diminish their visuals as superficial even going as far as to claim that Instagram face has officially come for the dessert table per the author is odd Cake shaming is not only weird but such a strange use of vigor Hysmith wrote in her own response to the op-ed Yet it s exactly the kind of thing our society tends to do to anything related to pleasure especially when it s created for or by a woman While the author does state that these cakes require skill artistry and impressive amounts of labor to create she s quick to trash them as gaudy boring and somewhat infantilizing Indeed the author is entitled to her own opinions and preferences Taste is subjective and so is aesthetic maximalist cakes aren t everyone s cup of tea and that s OK But it s also vital to remember that words hold immense power For the author to use a major platform to bash professional bakers absolutely because she had a meager Ugly Cakes that were dry and tasted suspiciously like boxed vanilla is straight up cruel Frankly it s a flaming hot take that s best kept private reserved only for the Notes App or a conversation at the dinner party table We need your help to stay independent Subscribe in the present day to assistance Salon s progressive journalism Obviously all words in the large way are subjective but the word ugly is incredibly subjective Hysmith stated It s one thing for one of these amazing bakers to call their cakes ugly it s an ownership of a word or a phrase But for someone else to come in and call these cakes ugly is a whole different thing And then to compare the baking to that is I think just weird and hilarious all at the same time Here s what a limited bakers had to say The op-ed struck a chord with small bakers nationwide numerous of whom shared their sentiments on Instagram Majority of concerning is how pieces like this embolden others to leave damaging reviews on Yelp or Google criticism that directly impacts small businesses wrote Poulette Bakeshop the Colorado-based artisanal pastry shop run by chefs Alen Ramos and Carolyn Nugent Baking should spark enjoyment for both the maker and the recipient There s room for a trifle and a heart-shaped Lambeth cake One doesn t cancel the other In the post s comments section chef Morgan Knight whose NYC-based bakery Saint Street Cakes was hyperlinked in the article wrote As one of the bakeries tagged in the article you summed up my thoughts and feelings perfectly Just plain condescending I Love Letter Emoji ugly cakes forever Want more great food writing and recipes Sign up for Salon s free food newsletter The Bite Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman also commented In a tradition of ever increasing shifts towards digital non-human and or mass production why would we seek to diminish the importance of products made by human hands with craft and care We all feel the increasing coldness of digital beliefs all around us It s unsettling and kinda scary Celebrate skill Celebrate small business Promotion the people the real people who follow their dreams and endure the hardships of owning a business in a world that is so massively dominated by big box stores and ones and zeros Keep making those beautiful cakes In a separate post Berta Buggs the baker behind CC s Sweets Bakeshop wrote Not everything has to be sleek or minimal to be beautiful A few of us find contentment in the loud the quirky the over-the-top And that delight It s real It s valid And it deserves respect I m not baking for algorithms or aesthetics I m baking for HAPPINESS For big feelings For people who light up when they see a cake that s bold nostalgic sparkly or just a little bit weird because that s what makes it beautiful You don t have to get it But you also don t get to shame it Read more about cakes Summer s easiest cake no oven required This buttery tangy banana cake is your sign that spring has arrived This unique cake combines the warmth of gingerbread with buttermilk and fresh blueberries The post The pleasure of ugly cakes appeared first on Salon com