CAKE ZINE explores the rich history of cake through an esoteric and hedonistic lens.
A sensation that practically exploded out of the DIY and extravagant baking scene that took on a life on Instagram during and after the pandemic, CAKE ZINE is the creation of writer/editor Aliza Abarbanel and writer/baker Tanya Bush who take us on a tour of history, pop culture, literature and art through dessert. It's a slim volume, but extraordinarily rich, and we love it.
The sixth issue of Cake Zine is 'Daily Bread' which explores how bread impacts our lives through ritual, religion, and routine. It contains one hundred and six pages of essays, recipes, art and more including:
- A clandestine account of the gluten schism that tore apart an upstate New York Catholic church by Jordan Kisner
- A profile of the elusive 2010s performance artist Bread Face by Nicolaia Rips
- An reflection on cutting off the crusts as a sign of class and love, and the rise of Uncrustables® by Mychal Denzel Smith
- Dueling odes to the art of loafing and the New York hustle culture of “getting this bread” by Adam Spiegelman and Sahir Ahmed
- An interview with Nisreen Shehada on baking for survival in the Rafah refugee camp by Jun Chou, with Nisreen’s recipe for za’atar focaccia
- An essay on craving domesticity, Buddhist enlightenment and the trope of the tradwife by Larissa Pham
- A deconstruction of the phrase “bread and roses” by Hermione Hoby
- A dispatch from a West London convent’s eucharist production line by Anna Cafolla
- A frank exploration of the physical toll baking takes on professional bakers by Dayna Evans
- Recipes for cinnamon raisin swirl qiang bing, pão de queijo pancakes, giant thenga-cardamom bun, and sweetbreads sandwich by Kayla Wong, João Campos, Shilpa Uskokovic and See You Soon
- Plus an oral history of the 60+ year-old radical theater Bread and Puppet, a step-by-step guide for tying shibari challah, the origin and cult-status of the bread clip, baking aboard a 100-year-old working sailboat and more.
