A little dessert magic in the kitchen
Conjure up some impossible dessert magic with coconut, lemon and a little bit of tenderness, Karen Barnaby writes.
A billion years ago, well not quite a billion but a little more than 40, I worked as a Santa Claus photographer for a season.
This was before I discovered my true calling in food and went through a series of odd jobs to support myself. After Christmas, the job involved travelling to Oshawa, Winnipeg, and Prince Albert to take portrait pictures of happy children (or not), happy (or crying) drooling babies, and happy (or miserable) families.
The job wasn’t great, and I slept in the temporary studios since accommodation was not offered as part of the job. What made up for it was working with some warm and wonderful people.
Allison in Winnipeg was one of those people. We shared a common love of baking and her family welcomed me in.
One night after having dinner with them, she asked me if I had ever heard of “Impossible Pie.” I hadn’t, so she pulled out a handwritten recipe book and copied the recipe out for me. She described it as a coconut pie, one where you mixed all the ingredients together and poured them into a pie pan. It was named “impossible” because it formed three layers: A fudgy layer on the bottom, a custardy middle, and a coconut layer on the top.
I am sad to confess that I didn’t attempt making it. It seemed too odd, and I didn’t believe it would work as she described. Every time I came across the recipe, I would remember her and feel a slight pang of guilt. The Internet is full of this recipe, coming in at 26,500,000 search engine results.
A fascination with old-fashioned desserts finally brought me out of my guilt zone.
Although there are rumours that the Magic Cake is Romanian in origin, I’m not so sure. The Romanian name for it is “Intelligent Cake” which translates into English as “Smart Cookie,” both of which I find charming. The charm aspect may be what has encouraged people to believe the story.
The Magic Cake recipe is almost identical to the Impossible Pie recipe. It doesn’t take a giant leap of faith to imagine that someone fiddled around with the Impossible Pie, and Magic Cake was born. Inquisitive cooks do this all the time.
When you want a simple dessert from readily available ingredients, remember these two. I wouldn’t want you to feel guilty every time you came across the recipe, and I’m sure you would welcome more impossible magic into your life.