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CAKE{1}

© Copyright 2015 Seiri Magazinecover cake crochet by Kirsten Raposas

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A simple focus on the little things.

Seiri is eliminating the unnecessary with its obsession with these, the pinnacle as a single subject. The first shall be the juvenile fascination and wonderment of CAKE; our premiere mini-issue.

Please do partake of this fluffy one.

Ishka Mejia

Let them eat cake.

- NOT Marie Antoinette

charmstext / Nina Martinezillustration / Kirsten Raposas

the world’s fascination with japan’s fascination for miniature foods

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Somewhere in the quieter corner of Youtube, you’ll find a channel called RRcherrypie. In it are several videos wherein a faceless, voiceless host with very careful hands showcases a collection of very tiny Japanese collectible-edibles - ranging from familiar meals like fast food burgers, to more decidedly Japanese traditions like bento boxes, to full-fledged miniature cake shop.With no audio commentary, or even the company of some inoffensive, plinky instrumental for background music as one might’ve expected, RRcherrypie’s gentle hand tilts each piece from side to side, occasionally using microscopic tongs to drop “food” into their appropriate plates with a satisfying click. Despite the lack of flourish and fanfare, the channel has amassed nearly 1.5 billion views among all their videos as of February 2015. Why are these silent advertisements so popular?It might help to study one of these videos in particular. MegaHouse collectables #3 - Cake shop (+ RE-MENT), posted November 2014, showcases the user’s complete set of tiny cakes of every flavour: Chocolate, Strawberry, Cherry, and even Passionfruit. Highly detailed and vibrantly colored, each piece comes with its own silver cake platter, and the entire set comes with its own glass case, as any cake shop should have. Underneath the video, commenters coo, I wish those cakes were real, I would eat them all and Why are these videos so oddly satisfying?

The company responsible for these decadent creations is RE-MENT, based in Japan. The name is short for “Reform the entertainment”, with the goal of innovating the toy market – however, RRcherrypie’s page insists that these miniature sets “are not toys for a young child”, and are merely for collecting.That might not be so much of a letdown. Japan, within this sphere of the toy industry, may have gotten something right: turning the idea of “deliciousness” into something more permanent. Real, edible cakes may be beautiful and, well, bigger, but after they’ve performed their actual job – being eaten – they are no longer able to be enjoyed. RE-MENT’s miniature cake set finds a way to take hold of that excitement, that joy of laying eyes on a perfectly made dessert, and seal it in a painted piece of plastic. Japanese companies like RE-MENT know how to appreciate life’s delays in gratification by way of lovely little charms that need no dramatic angles or background music to be admired. There’s nothing miniature about that.

https://www.youtube.com/user/RRcherrypie

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starring: caketext / Lian Kyla Dyogi

cake can also be a character’s ally or demise

Aside from the main character and the supporting character, what else is important in a film? The setting? No. It’s the cake. Yes you read it right. Am I crazy? No. From Wreck-it-Ralph to Bridesmaids, cakes are a semi-prominent but also important part of a film. They are used to move the plot forward and push the hero into action. You don’t really think about it when you’re watching but cakes abound in a lot of our favorite films. In these films, the cake is used in five different ways:

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Shows the hero’s inner conflict and/or plan to resolve this problem as he or she destroys said cake

Wreck-it-Ralph (2012)

“This angry little guy here might be a lot happier if you put him up here with everyone else” (as Ralph places his figurine on the 30th anniversary cake)

“No no no, you see Ralph, there’s no room for you up here. (removes figurine from top) If you won a medal then we’d let you live up here in the penthouse. But it will never happen because you’re just the bad guy who wrecks the building.”

“No I’m not!” (smashes cake)

CONFLICT: Why does he have to be the “bad guy” and be left out for it? Also, he seems to be going through an identity crisis. SOLUTION: First, smash cake. Second, find a medal and be labeled an official hero.

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The cake is a tool to start conflict and to push the hero and the plot forward.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2012)

Dobby: “Harry Potter must say he’s not going back to school” Harry: “I can’t, Hogwarts is my home.”Dobby: “Then Dobby must do it sir, for Harry Potter’s own good.” (snaps finger and the cake starts to move)

CONFLICT: Dobby doesn’t want Harry Potter to go back to school. This creates suspense because why doesn’t he want Harry to go back to school (?).

SOLUTION: Levitate cake, let it drop on the head of a poor unsuspecting muggle human, and get Harry grounded and unable to go to school.

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The cake is used to as a peace offering to resolve a conflict

Bridesmaids (2011)

“So I ate your cake that you left, yeah. So I had to fight some raccoons off but I’m pretty strong and tough so it wasn’t much of a contest… I’m just going to kiss you now” – Officer Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd)

CONFLICT: The main character, Annie, was mean to her “love interest” and was pushing him away. SOLUTION: Bake him a cake to say sorry and rekindle their flame. Did it work? Of course, it’s a movie.

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Some characters just really love cake

Mr. Peabody and Sherman (2014)

“Cake! I love cake so much!” – Marie Antoinette

CONFLICT: The queen, Marie Antoinette, would bake lavish cakes even when the rest of her country was poor.SOLUTION: Throw a stone, destroying the cake, cause a riot, and well---off with her head!

So the next time you watch a movie, be sure to notice the cakes. Who knows, you might find they’re more important than you originally imagined. On the flip side, they’re just really so good to look at.

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Just to add, here’s the best, most triumphant scene a chocolate cake could ever serve to show onscreen.

Matilda (1996)

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mollifiedtext / Ishka Mejia

the sugar was high

dripping with glaze

snowflakes of a tropical fruit on edge, the cherry glistening on top

truffle melting, creating a pool on side of the plate, fork stained at the tips

sesame seeds were oddly put, but the taste luscious

and the world spun

tongue bitten like lover’s teeth

sinking playfully at the lower lip

douse it with black coffee, drown it, make it soggy, and tasteless…

only the bitterness left… the dark, smoldering riptide in a cup could have mollified

the dosage

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The Night of Caketext / Matthew (hellopoetry.com)

Nobody was born todayBut you picked up a cake anywayfor five dollars fifty plus tax

Now you’re watchingCriminal Minds on a couch made for threeand eating it with your hands

It vaguely occurs to you thatyou should be sharing it with some-oneor at least put on some damn candles

You’re not even hungryyou don’t even need to fill a voidyou did good today

You hardly even miss her anymore.You haven’t thought about it in weeks.If you just slept you’d be fine in the morning.

You consider it all examining the red velvetstuck under your thumbnail

Maybe you’re looking fora file or a prison shanksunk beneath the frosting

Or maybe you just needto make this a NightThe Night of the Cake

It’ll blend inwith the othersin a matter of time

But for a few weeksyou’ll look backand remember

you are a memberof those romanticized ranksthose plastic or terracotta statues

Tomorrow you will feed the dog.And after work you will pick up gro-ceries.And after groceries you will pay your bills.

But tonight is the Night of Cake.Tonight you become a stereotype

An unforgiving consumerwith chocolate-stained hands.

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cake, beloved caketext / Jade Emily Castro and Klarysse Domingoillustration / Erika Morales

Like many first times, the first time you eat cake is a life-altering experience. The first bite introduces your palette to the light and fluffy texture of cake, as well as the sweetness that is inherent in most desserts. You’re left more than satisfied with one slice of whichever kind of cake you choose--cheesecake, carrot cake, chiffon cake, among others. After a while, you begin craving for cake; you think of the treat you could have after meals. And when you finally give in to that craving, you’re re-introduced to the wonder of eating cake.

This playlist tries to capture that cycle of cake--from consump-tion to craving to consumption again. And how sugar can also drip from your ears.

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http://8tracks.com/seirimag/cake-beloved-cake

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confab

how to eat caketext / Ishka Mejia

First, make sure it is what you truly crave for, what you truly want. Decide this with a clear mind and an open heart.

Criteria: Is it beautiful? Does the flavor possess your tongue at the sight of it? Is it worth your money? Or your stomach?

Now, how to take the perfect slice? The only way to cut and serve is through the cake slicer. No fork.

Carefully carry the slice onto the center of the plate.

Appreciate, each side, the inside, the layering, the wondrous fastidious pouring it took… the colors.

Watch the perfect frosted flow of the icing.

Savor the moment with your eyes. It is precious. It is yours. No need for Instagram. Hold your breath and share a moment with the cake yourself.

Then with your tool of a miniature triton, pierce it. Pierce carefully, and bring it to the mouth. Let the tongue roll over, close your eyes if need be, and then swallow.

And the yin and yang of pairings to down this heady pastry?

Chocolate (rich) - White Wine (sweet, but light)Red Velvet - COFFEE (black)Cheesecake - COFFEE (black)Tiramisu - Red Wine (balance)Lemon / Orange Cake (intense) - Green Tea (bitter and calm) or Sweet Wine (for greater intensity)Frosted cake - Tea Latte (tastes like Christmas)

But you know, you can always just eat it whole, with bare hands, icing sticky on the sides of the mouth.

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CakeLaura Shull201418” x 24”oil on board, framed

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ultimate baked experience in cheesecake formtext / Ishka Mejia

A locally embedded offering from The Sweet Spot, tucked in the confused residential-commercial Maginhawa neighborhood, has riveted our sapidity that Coffee Bean’s latest cheesecake has nothing on this dulcet delight. For only 99 bucks a slice, this original cake induces a light, comfy sentiment that we know only ube can dispense. You just have to try it.

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The Sweer Spot’s ube cheesecake

Pasteles de Mercado de San Miguel

When my roommates and I took a weekend trip to Madrid, one of our stops was the Mercado de San Miguel. I hadn’t perused its offerings during my first trip to Spain in 2012, but now I had the chance to with my friends, so we picked cake flavours that weren’t so common to us.

All the cakes were purchased from Horno San Onofre. The pasteleria, according to the mercado’s website, combines traditional and modern baking, which explains the uniqueness of the pastries.

text & photographs / Julian Occeña

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Postre de Caramelo, €3,00As someone whose feelings towards caramel tend to be on the negative side (with matching sneers), I was pleasantly surprised by this cake. I didn’t love it, but the soft texture blended all the flavours of the outer layer well with its chocolatier interior.

Queso con Frambuesa, €3,50At first my roommates and I referred to the top layer as the “mystery red layer,” like we do with tonnes of Spanish food we aren’t familiar with. We’d ruled out strawberry because of the stronger, tangier flavour. Fortunately, we had technology on our side, and found that “frambuesa” translated to raspberry. This cake surprised me even more, because I was never one to like fruit-flavoured things, but I loved this cake. We all agreed that it was a lot more feathery than the cheesecakes we were used to, but I found that that really complemented the harder graham layer at the bottom.

Tartaleta Chocol Blanco, €3,50This chocolate tart was the group’s overall favourite. White chocolate (which was absolutely smooth and had no hints of coarseness) filled the entire tart, but did not overwhelm with sweetness. I’m not an eloquent food critic, so my verdict is that is was muy muy bien and pretty much made of my childhood dreams.