COASTING ALONG • Autumn
Coasting along with
LIBBY GREIG
The icing, a trifle, a slice, a tiny morsel … some crumbs from the great high tea of life.
2020 WAS THE YEAR OF HOME BAKING AND NOW,
based confections outside France, but now whole sugar empires
LOOKING BACK WITH NOSTALGIA ON MY OVERSEAS
are built upon them.
TRAVELS, I THOUGHT I’D COMBINE TWO OF MY FAVOURITE
In its attempt at world domination, the macaron must be
SUBJECTS. SO I BRING YOU SOME EXCERPTS FROM MY
stopped. In Japan, sadly, it is too late; the rot has set in. Green-tea
TRAVEL DIARY.
macarons are all the rage in Tokyo and can be found stacked high
The UK: home of the celestial cream slice, heavenly scones, and the Victoria sponge Today (reads my diary), I am on a pilgrimage to Betty’s Tearoom in Harrogate in Yorkshire. Home of the celestial cream slice. These rate so highly I am worried they won’t live up to the hype, with thick white custard cream between light puff pastry, raspberry jam and a light dusting of icing sugar. Oh golly. A sort of northern mille-feuille, but so thick you can’t put it straight into your mouth. I do hope these haven’t been Brexited yet. On the way here we dropped into the Duke of Portland at Welbeck Abbey, the ‘Cavendish-Bentincks’ to you and, rather than have the great unwashed trail through their home ruining the carpets, they have designed the most beautiful galleries filled with exquisite and eclectic treasures. The collection includes the family silver, miniatures and portraits, fascinating royal keepsakes and, most importantly, cake. Seriously fluffy scones that are light and utterly delicious. Coconut cakes, lime and courgette cupcakes and a huge Bakewell tart. The uprising of the Victoria sponge. You heard it here first. Yes, the Victoria sponge is making a comeback, seen in all the best tea rooms around Scotland. Forget the oatcake and the Dundee cake; the winner is the Victoria sponge.
in glorious patisseries in Hiroshima. In India they can be found, too, in Delhi and Mumbai. But who actually eats them? Can you remember when you last ate one? I thought they may have gone the way of the dreaded cupcake, but no. The French should recall macarons in the interests of cultural misappropriation or protect its name like they did with Champagne. Macarons are smothering good old-fashioned cake. Quite frankly, if the French like them so much then, MarieAntoinette should have said, ‘Let them eat macarons.’
Goa: oh for a Portuguese tart, or perhaps a divine surprise Continuing my research into ‘The Influence of Cake on PostColonial India’ (the breath-taking series will soon feature on the SBS cooking channel). Episode 1: the Portuguese. We have been staying in Panjim the hot, dusty heart of Goa, in the small area filled with lovely houses, though most of them need restoration by the National Trust. There are small streets with terrace houses, and Baroque churches that look like white wedding cakes – all laying claim to some fingernail of a saint, or some relic from their very own inquisition. Think a cross between Paddington and New Orleans with martyrs. I imagined the place would be full of tiny patisseries all selling
India: plain cake from The Raj, and macaron madness I hate to break this to you but my research into the influence of cake in post-modern Asia has found the macaron is king. Twelve years ago you would never find one of these little meringue-
54 COAST
Portugal’s major cultural export, the Portuguese tart. Well, I am sad to report there are no Portuguese tarts in central Goa. And furthermore they have never even heard of them! Silly me. What they have instead is bebinca, which is layer upon layer of coconut, jaggery and egg yolks cooked separately over a day to makes a sort of ribboned layer cake cut finely. Pretty
