It was in Alice in Wonderland when, desperate to grow bigger or smaller, Alice ate the very small cake with ‘eat me’ written on it with currants. My predicament last week reminded me of this scene, though my intention was definitely not to grow larger! This was easier said than done, however, in the face of the most divine array of teacakes that I found myself relishing.

Walnut Grove in Sandton, after a recent lavish revamp, has a collection of cakes on show that matches that of any fashion designer in the swish new centre. I wanted to eat them all; I could see that a lot of love had been put into each one. And there was no fancy piping or embellishments, just good old-fashioned cake. (But there were some crazy, vibrant ones, too.)

The unique and chic rainbow cake stood out on the runway, boasting stripes of the latest fashionable colours of lime, pink, red, orange and yellow in soft sponge, topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting. Between the ever-so-proud-looking red velvet cake that dominated the table next to its bold pink sibling was the Vera Wang of cakes: a coconut vanilla confection with a texture of crunchy coconut, offset by a silky smooth icing and sprinkled with dried shavings of coconut.

And then arrived a new range of ultra-slick neutrals. Muffins baked in terracotta pots come in a range of flavours, from seed bran and white chocolate to macadamia and caramel.

Just like in Alice, the cakes did all say ‘eat me’, but the crème de la crème was the one slice I just couldn’t resist. This gooey, brown sugar meringue roulade was brimming with fresh summer strawberries and whipped cream. (I don’t buy into the saying, ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it, too’.)

But summer is really just around the corner and I still have a few more meals to devour before all is revealed at this year’s Eat Out DStv Food Network Restaurant Awards, so I did resist a slice of the walnut one… Until next time, anyway.

Abigail

In the mood for cake? Try one of these moreish recipes:
Berry marbled cake
Iced vanilla cupcakes
Kei apple and ginger-scented cupcake with ginger crystalised day lilies
Lemon meringue cupcakes
Passionfruit and yoghurt syrup cakes
Red velvet cake
Sesame yoghurt cardamom cake
Six-minute chocolate cake