Transition Culture

An Evolving Exploration into the Head, Heart and Hands of Energy Descent

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I no longer blog on this site. You can now find me, my general blogs, and the work I am doing researching my forthcoming book on imagination, on my new blog.

Come find me at robhopkins.net

15 Nov 2010

The Transition Network Guide to making celebratory cakes: a free download

Last week I posted one of the ‘Ingredients of Transition’ called ‘Transition Cakes’ which observed how many Transition initiatives make some kind of stunning centrepiece cake at certain key moments in their evolution.  I has asked Julia Ponsonby, chef extraordinaire at Schumacher College, to give me a recipe for a good cake to make, and in the end she wrote me a whole guide to making celebratory cakes, including loads of decorating ideas too.  In the Ingredient I could only use the actual cake recipe, but what she had written was far too good to waste, and she has kindly allowed me to turn it into the “Transition Network guide to making celebratory cakes” and to post it here for you to download.  Happy baking.

Categories: Culture, Food, Storytelling, Transition as a Pattern Language

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2 Comments

treaclemine
16 Nov 8:57pm

Would it be possible to enhance the cake guide by adding information about cakes suitable for just about anyone?

For example, eggs aren’t suitable for quite a lot of people – whether for medical, religious or philosophical reasons – and making delicious, light egg-free cakes is really straightforward.

I’d be happy to supply some tips and recipes.

Lucy Neal
8 Dec 1:01am

I have to make a point here about cakes. They are sacrificial. They get eaten up. One whole divided up; a bit for everyone. One moment a gorgeous great beauty of a thing. Next it is cut with a knife. Some munching and oohing and aahing, and licking of lips and then it is gone. Some crumbs remain. It is the essence of what is shared here that is central to the celebration. The cake is sacrificed for the common good. Experience had TOGETHER. This is the opposite of cup cake culture which should be avoided at ALL COSTS which is a sad reduction of cake history.* Personalised, over decorated, and over individualised cupcakes require no cutting and no ceremony. They are the culinary encapsulation of our demented need to create units for the market. No No No No No. The whole cake and nothing but the whole cake.(* exceptions can be made for children launching on cake making careers). End of cake thesis.