Cook what you love to eat

blueberry cinnamon snack cake

For the past couple weeks I have been experimenting with adding a streusel or crumb topping to a blueberry cinnamon snack cake that I make with some frequency.  The first day I added one, it sank too far into the cake.  I expected that, to be honest, because the cake batter is not so thick that it could easily hold up a topping which thoroughly covered the surface if it were added to the cake before it went into the oven.  Even though I expected that result, I wanted to try anyway.  I tend to be stubborn that way sometimes, insistent that I try something so that I can see for certain whether or not it can work. 

Then I experimented with letting the cake bake for several minutes and adding the topping after it had firmed up, but with enough time left that the topping and the cake would both get a good bake.  After several days of experimenting with the timing, I got it down just right.  Excellent!  Now, to find the right topping.  I tried numerous different versions of a few different toppings.  I went through a lot of wild blueberries, washed a lot of cake pans, and tossed out a lot of toothpicks from testing the bake.  In the end, I finally settled on what I thought was the best topping.  There was a problem, however.  No matter what topping I tried, they all (including the final best topping) seemed to diminish some of the best qualities of the cake.  I don't mean to say that the cake didn't taste good with the topping, or that the combination was somehow off.  But this snack cake is particularly pleasing to me, having a moist soft crumb while being highly flavorful, and with just the right balance between light and heavy in texture.  It is one of my favorite cakes to eat plain, completely unadorned (although sometimes I top it with a blueberry sweet cream).  In the end it turns out that by trying to enhance it, trying to add something to it, trying to make it better than it was, the cake simply wasn't what it was before.  So I won't do anything more to it.  I will keep it as the plain scrumptious cake that it is, the one that I love to eat. 

I only cook what I love to eat.  Don't ask me to cook Brussels sprouts, liver, or sauerkraut, because I don't find them tasty.  How can I determine if something is cooked well if I don't even find that particular food delicious to eat?  So cook what you love, eat what you love, and serve what you love to all your family and friends.  You'll never go wrong.