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.
About the new issue, 'Spoiled Rotten', from the publisher:
Spoiled Rotten explores spoilage and the spoiled, digging into what’s stale, overripe, curdled, wasted, and reborn in food culture. A 256-page pocket-sized magazine of essays, recipes, and art including:
- A private chef’s tell-all on the excess and absurdity of cooking for billionaires, and the sharks that follow their superyachts for scraps by Katy Severson
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A cultural critique of how Western food systems' pursuit of convenience has eroded our tolerance for discomfort and by extent, deliciousness, by Anikah Shaokat
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A journey into the world of wassailing in the English countryside and what happens when rituals fail by Amber Husain
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A meditation on the ghost of the Burger King at the U.S. military’s Bagram Air Base by Aria Aber
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Recipes that rescue ingredients past their prime, including an ingenious cursed custard by Oliver Costello of TOAD Bakery, a black sesame banana bun by Kendra Vaculin and a molten chocolate panade by Andrew Janjigian
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The mold, mites, slime and other unsavory realities of cheesemaking, and how cleaning up mess becomes a form of care by H Conley
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A wine professional on the wine purchasing habits of The Real Housewives and the taste of conspicuous consumption by Charlotte Buck
- An exploration of the rot endemic to sugarcane production and communing with the ghosts its left behind by Bitter Kalli and Amirio Freeman
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A family legacy of enthusiastic eating involving the world haggis eating championship with Laura Pitcher
- Plus the fantasy of being coddled by room service, navigating “the danger zone” for perishable foods with parents who don’t believe in it, a spit-exchange circle for making chicha de jora, dumpster diving for survival in Manila, the rise of human composting for burial, a case for bringing back the time-honored tradition of throwing rotten-tomatoes, a special themed crossword puzzle and much more.
