A Parable wrapped in a celebration.
The Black Joe Cake (BJC) has been at birthday tables all my life.
For twenty-five years, I baked BJCs for other people as a performance called SURPRISE! I BROUGHT CAKE! The one-sentence, scripted show would appear with no forewarning at invited parties, art openings, and other gatherings. In all those years – I never delivered an unwelcome SURPRISE!
The BJC is a super moist chocolate cake that makes the most of coffee, cocoa, and buttermilk! It’s like a scratch boxed brownie mix, but in a cake and with much better ingredients! One bowl, one spatula, guaranteed deliciousness. The BJC comes with some technical challenges: The batter is super thin. BJC does not comply with the wet-toothpick rule, so I’m never really sure if its done baking. Finally, the saltiest complication: the cake sticks to the pan, no matter how well you prepare them. The BJC requires a lot of blind faith that it will come together.
Wet-Toothpick Rule
that thing when you pierce the cake with a toothpick to make sure its done. crumb stuck to the toothpick? leave it in the oven and watch it.
Yesterday, I was baking the BJC, to celebrate my nephew’s 19th solar return. I reached for my recipe and got started.
Dry ingredients sifted.
Buttermillk brewing (I make my own buttermilk by curdling half and half, which is always on hand, with white cider vinegar).
Oil emulsified with the eggs (you can’t make a good BJC without breaking some eggs).
Cold Black Coffee…
a note about my recipes
Recently, as part of my lifelong-project to build the habit of putting everything in its place when I have it in my hand, I consolidated all the recipes I had laying about the house on index cards, scraps of paper, torn out magazine pages, etc. I gathered these errant recipes and gratefully wrote them onto plain white paper, in no particular order BUT all in one place.
Uh oh. My latest transcription of the BJC recipe omits the measure of Cold Black Coffee! I called my sister. She’s just moved so: boxes. I called my mom. She said she would look it up and asked my other sister for her copy of the recipe. I started to feel pressured, the BJC batter was setting up.
Then, I figured out I could figure it out. My body remembered, across the decades of baking the BJC: ‘used one liquid measure twice’. Body remembering is a thing and I’m bound to write about it sooner or later. Stay tuned.
My insight was followed by another body wisdom from haircutting experience: ‘you can always go shorter.’ So I began with the smaller liquid measure (1/2 cup) and observed the batter was not nearly thin enough. Problem solved. I added another 1/2 cup of Cold Black Coffee, popped the heart-shaped pans in the oven, set the timer to 35 mins, and edited my recipe before I put it away, while I had it in my hand!
The cake turned out terrific.
This morning, I pulled the cream cheese and butter out of the fridge to soften for the icing, poured myself a cup of Cold White Coffee (lots of half and half on hand) and sat down to test out a new Tarot spread I’m developing called Thank You, Now Go. I first imagined this spread on the evening of a waning gibbous moon.
TYNG was designed to seek wisdom for querants who know what they want to release. It might be a compulsion, a way of thinking, or a bad habit. It could be a small cluster of behaviors, thoughts and feelings blocking progress toward a higher purpose. TYNG asks the guides for information toward honoring and releasing, while identifying the gift inside the habit to hang onto and transform.
I fired up my candle invoking the light, and focused on one habit to release while shuffling. I pulled my cards. The guides were as clear as the water at Crystal Springs Florida. Their advice was super funny today, too. I let the cards sit and spent some time with the information they imparted. Doing dishes is a great way to integrate, all that frothy water action. One card in the spread kept raising questions for me as I worked my way through the dirty dishes in the sink. The Hierophant appeared in the position of the gift I can retain when releasing my greater attachment. I wanted to know more.
I pulled off my rubber gloves and reached for my reliable Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom. This book has been with me since 2013. It is my starting point for research when I want to dive a little deeper.
Sip, smile, sip my Cold White Coffee as I appreciated the history of my reference book. A question pops into my mind: when did Pollack write this, wasn’t it the late 70s, surely no later than 82? This question comes up all the time, I don’t know why I cannot remember the publication date, I think to myself. I opened the cover to find the answer.
What did I see?
A very clear message, but not a date.
What else did I see?
The BJC recipe written on the inside front cover of the book.
What else did I see?
One Cup Cold Black Coffee.
What else did I see?
Tarot offers answers to the most practical questions if we are curious enough to seek the wisdom.
Thank you guides!
Now, about that Hierophant…