Let Them Eat Cake...Week 11

Cheryl Strayed, The Other Cheryl & The Way It Is

Family matters cropped up with the special guest I was supposed to interview yesterday so she had to reschedule. That means, despite the horrid tragedies that are going on in Israel and the world, I’m going to give you a super secret cake recipe instead of an interview. At times, I firmly believe it’s healthier to consume sweets than the news — at least mentally.

By the way, when I was teaching a journalism class I required a certain amount of keeping up with the news but I also told students that I didn’t believe in overconsumption. I also recommended reading reputable news sources (i.e. NYT, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, WaPO) instead of watching television news. I stand by that recommendation.

Back to the cake. Of course there’s a small story behind the recipe. Many years ago I ripped the recipe out of an obscure celebrity magazine in my dentist’s office, which had a feature on the almost-famous-but-not-quite actor Cheryl Hines. She’d probably just started Curb Your Enthusiasm and of course wasn’t yet married to RFK, Jr. and engendering ire. (Irrelevant side note: Apparently Cheryl and RFK married on my bday Aug 2 — kind of wish it was a different day). In the magazine story, Hines said that she’d been a personal assistant for someone in entertainment and that person’s private chef made this cake often. She left behind her personal assistant job as her acting took off, but kept the recipe. Hines claimed that her friends always requested this cake for their birthdays (I doubt they ask her to make it anymore!). Yet every time I make this easy bundt cake people really like it and my family does request it. It’s not quite from scratch - it uses a cake mix and a pudding mix!— but like I said it’s easy. No frosting needed, either.

I recently thought I’d lost the recipe and I went scouring the internet. It’s not there, folks. There are sort of similar cakes, but not this one. Fortunately, I found my stolen recipe. And now I’m giving you a cake that even the internet doesn’t have. If you can imagine that. Try it. It’s a great treat for when guests are coming. I’d love to hear what you think!

Chocolate-Pistachio Almost Famous Bundt Cake

(Or: The Cheryl-Hines-You-Were- Probably-Better-Off-When-You-Weren’t-Standing-By-Your-Man Cake)

1 yellow cake mix

1 package pistachio pudding mix

I cup vegetable oil (OR you can use 3/4 c oil + 1/4 c apple sauce)

3 eggs

3/4 c milk

1/2 c dry white wine

6 oz. chocolate syrup (about 3/4 c)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cake mix, pistachio pudding mix, oil, eggs, milk and wine in big bowl. Stir until well mixed. Grease a bundt cake pan — pour 3/4 of the cake mix into the pan. Add the chocolate syrup to the remaining 1/4 of the cake mix still in the bowl. Pour the chocolate mixture on top of the mix already in the bundt pan. Poke with a fork so that the chocolate mix can seep down a bit through the pistachio mix. Cook for about 55-60 minutes or until a fork comes out clean. Enjoy!

Women Talking

One last thing. I mentioned Elizabeth Gilbert (EAT PRAY LOVE) last week. Which spurred a discussion with a few friends. I guess a lot has happened in Gilbert’s life. For the record, I haven’t kept up with her much. I watched the EAT PRAY LOVE movie, but didn't read the book. And I listened to Big Magic, which I really liked. But for my money I kind of prefer Cheryl Strayed (it’s a Cheryl day!). Her memoir WILD was so good. And I enjoyed her Dear Sugar on The Rumpus well before WILD came out and then Dear Sugar became a thing. Later, I also really loved when she called up the great Margaret Atwood (Handmaid’s Tale) as a pandemic interview. The other day Cheryl shared “The Way It Is”, a beautiful poem by Willam Stafford. So here is that:

The Way It Is

By William Stafford

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

From Ask Me: 100 Essential Poems. Graywolf Press (January 7, 2014).