Louisiana’s baked goods. Courtesy of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.
Eat Dessert First
While growing up in a small community in southwest Louisiana, I shared many joyful Sunday afternoons with my Cajun cousins at my grandparents’ farm located down a gravel road. At the homestead of Mom and Pop Douce Huval (douce is French for “sweet”), we mischievously poked around the pigeonniere, circled around pecan trees and played hide-and-go-seek near the cistern. During the summer, while the grownups sat on the front porch visiting, the kids clamored to be first in line to turn the hand crank of the ice cream maker. The cool prize was sloppy scoops of creamy homemade vanilla ice cream loaded with cherries. Laughing, talking about politics, rocking away the afternoon and bragging about old times were part of the entertainment. My uncle often began a joke in English but switched to French when he got to the punchline. The musicians in the family pulled out the accordion and fiddle and sang Cajun tunes.
Later, when I was too old to dress in mask and costume, I continued my Halloween tradition of dropping by Aunt Alice’s house to enjoy her homemade praline or peanut butter fudge, which she handed out to all who visited her for trick or treat. My aunts and my mother, Gen, had their own sweet specialties. With the hint of baking drifting through open windows in our little country kitchen, it was no secret what Gen was up to on Saturday mornings—making cinnamon rolls from scratch. The rolls were yeastbased, prepared from a recipe that was passed to Gen from the school cafeteria ladies. She spent time kneading the dough, patiently allowing it to rise. It was rolled out flat in a rectangular shape, brushed with butter and sprinkled with a sugar-cinnamon mix. Once rolled into a log shape, it was cut in two-inch slices, nestled in round cake pans and baked as my sisters and I checked on the progress by peeking through the glass oven door. Once the fat rolls were declared ready and hot out of the oven, they were cooled on a rack followed by a drizzling of a light icing of powdered sugar and milk. The scent of cinnamon continues to remind me of home.
Louisiana’s baked goods. Courtesy of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.
Gen also baked sweet dough pies using blackberries she picked in summertime and pecan pies during the winter, as we had plenty of pecan trees. Other family specialties were fig preserve cake made from homegrown figs in the backyard, pecan praline butter cake, tart a la bouille and a gussied-up coconut cake. Our summertime treats included snow cones, a slushy treat of frozen ice sweetened with flavored syrup.
Thriftiness was a common thread in Gen’s desserts, as she grew up during the Great Depression. She often served gateau de sirop (syrup cake). Many southerners looked to the dark, flavorful sugarcane syrup as a sweetener, especially during difficult times. Imaginative homemakers used what they had on hand to create a worthy dessert despite limitations. They came up with the rich gateau de sirop using cane syrup as a sweetener and eggs from the chicken coop. As a kissing cousin to gingerbread, the syrup cake is a simple to bake, slightly sweet Cajun cake that does not have sugar or need frosting.
In the early 1900s, pear trees were plentiful on the Huval family property. My maternal great-grandmother, Malvina Naquin Huval, walked along the grove of trees in St. Martin Parish to collect the bounty of green pears. To make pear preserves, she peeled the skin from the pears, cut them into thin slices, tossed the lot into tall pots, added spices and cooked the batches on a wood-burning stove. This gift of nature in mismatched jars could be enjoyed year-round. By adding scoops of her preserves to regular butter cake batter, she created a memorable dessert: a moist pear preserve cake.
Other old-time desserts along the Bayou Teche included the Cajun Pig’s Ear Pastry, or oreilles de cochon. This comes from the Louisiana tradition of family boucheries, or pig slaughters, in which every part of the pig was used to prepare dishes, such as boudin, crackling, sausage and bacon. But take heart, and do not jump to the wrong conclusion. The oreilles de cochon only bear a resemblance to the porky appendage. No part of the pig is actually used to create our Cajun version of a fritter. To prepare this fun treat, dough is formed into two-inch balls, flattened and shaped in a circle and rolled until thin. While deep-frying the treat, the cook uses a long fork to twist the dough in the shape of a pig’s ear, followed by a quick drizzling of a heated mix of Steen’s cane syrup and chopped pecans. In other areas, langues de bouef, or cow tongue pastries, can be deep fried and twisted in a similar way. Bread dough is rolled out and cut in three- by one-and-a-half-inch strips. Once fried until crispy, the special fritter is sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Why are memories so tied to food? I may not recall what Santa Claus delivered to us each Christmas, but I do remember that for special occasions, my mom prepared holiday treats like dates stuffed with a maraschino cherry cream cheese whip and topped with a pecan half. She also rustled up an addictive tidbit of a pecan roll cradled in marshmallow crème and toasted coconut. German chocolate cake with a pecan coconut icing offered a subtle chocolaty but delicious treat for Easter. Autumn evenings were spent rolling popcorn balls with syrup once the Jiffy Pop stove-top popping pan filled up with fresh popcorn. In honor of Gen’s summer birthday, she pulled out cans of sliced pineapple and jars of cherries to make an outstanding pineapple upside-down cake that was drippingly delicious.
As my devotion to sweets continues, I reminisce about my introduction to my favorite showstopper of a dessert. The object of my affection was the fancy doberge cake with its shiny covering over six beautiful tiers. I took my good ol’ sweet time (pun intended) to shamelessly savor the first luscious bite.
Bedazzled by my visits to the old bakeshop, I studied the lineup of decadent delights. Parading past the showcase of gleaming chocolate éclairs, brownies and cream puffs, I mused over my choices. The seductive aroma of spices and baking drew me into a euphoric state. My head spun as some other delicacy captured my attention, whether it be cheesecake, petit fours, a sliver of the humble sweet potato cake or a dainty linzer cookie with jam filling. And that’s why I say “Eat dessert first!”
Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic
who waved off the dessert cart.
—Erma Bombeck
