|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Cakes are often associated with celebrations – birthdays, graduations, weddings and other special occasions where loved ones gather together. For Bay Area resident, baking enthusiast and author Elisa Sunga, cake itself is the cause for celebration, a way to build community and make new friends, centered around sharing slices of tasty goodness.
Sunga is the creator of Cake Picnic, a potluck where every attendee brings an entire cake to share. The inaugural picnic was held in a San Francisco park a couple of years ago. When Sunga posted her invitation for that very first gathering, she hoped for the best but wasn’t sure if it would pan out.
As she recounts in her new cookbook, “Cake Picnic: Recipes for the Love of Cake & Friends,” she was surprised to find that 183 people – with 183 cakes – showed up, proving “people everywhere were hungry for a joyful community gathering.”
The idea has now been expanded and formalized into an official, trademarked, ticketed roving series. Some events have drawn over a thousand people (and cakes). Last fall’s event on San Francisco’s Treasure Island featured over 2,000 cake creations, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Sunga has taken the sweet idea a step further with the May publication of her book. Published by Chronicle Books, it’s part cookbook – offering baking tips and 50 cake recipes organized by themes, such as season, location or ingredients – and part how-do guide to help readers throw cake-based shindigs of their own.
For example, readers can find ideas for the perfect cakes to bake for a beach picnic, a floral-themed event or an autumn harvest gathering (Butterscotch Pumpkin Oat Cake, anyone?). It also gives advice on being a good picnic guest, from practical concerns such as how to transport cakes and store leftovers to tasting etiquette and conversation ideas.
Sunga comes to Kepler’s bookstore in Menlo Park Aug. 7 to promote the book. Following her presentation, there will be a book signing and mini cake picnic in the plaza outside the store, with Kepler’s providing beverages. Those who want to bring a cake to share can indicate that when registering and will receive more information from Heather Birchall, the program manager for premier events for Kepler’s Literary Foundation.
“It’ll be really lovely; people will spill out (onto the plaza) and be greeted by this colorful, sweet feast,” Birchall said of her vision for the evening. “The staff, we are all keyed up to make our own cakes as well.” Birchall, for one, plans to bring a Victoria sandwich. “That’s kind of the classic British cake, a very simple one,” she said.
Though it will be a smaller-scale, more informal picnic, “We’ll definitely make a fuss of everybody who comes. It’s going to be a more intimate cake picnic, a chance to meet the author and ask her questions about why Cake Picnic has exploded into this incredible thing,” Birchall said.
Until recently, baking was Sunga’s passion project while she worked at Google by day. But as of a few weeks ago, she told this news organization in an email interview, sharing the joy of Cake Picnic and taking the event on tour is now her full-time career.
“Historically, musicians and artists went on tour. Isn’t it amazing that we can also now go on tour for things like cake? It has been so fun to see so many people travel to Cake Picnic; crossing state borders and taking international flights just to join in on the fun!” she said.
Ahead of her Kepler’s event, Sunga answered questions about what inspired the Cake Picnic concept and advice from her book that may surprise readers. The Q&A, conducted via email, has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Embarcadero Media: Can you please share a bit about how you were inspired to create the Cake Picnic concept? Why cake in particular?
Elisa Sunga: Back in April 2024, I wanted to eat a lot of cake but I didn’t want to bake it all by myself. I thought, “What if I created an event and made it a requirement that every person attending has to bring a whole cake? That way we can all share a lot of cake and make new friends.” I had no idea how popular it would get! Cake is such a big project that takes multiple days and lots of planning. It is so nice to be able to share it with others.
EM: How did you get interested in baking?
ES: I started baking in March 2020 during the pandemic. I had a lot more time and it seemed like everyone was baking sourdough and banana bread. I wanted to join in! Since then, I fell in love with baking as a creative and social pursuit.
EM: How has the Cake Picnic idea spread around the world from your original event?
ES: Ever since I posted about it, I have started to get so many emails and DMs asking to bring Cake Picnic to Seoul, Paris, Dublin, Morocco, and so, so many more places. I would love to bring it to as many places as possible! When I reflect back on it now, Cake Picnic is all about butter, sugar, flour, and more – what’s not to love and want to be a part of?
EM: What are a few of your favorite recipes and cakes from the book?
ES: I love so many recipes in the book, but right now my favorite chapters are the Chocolate Cake Picnic and Salty Sweet Cake Picnic. At every Cake Picnic tour stop, I beeline for all of the chocolate cakes and fill my cake box with as many as I can. I also love the Salty Sweet Cake Picnic because it is a perfect balance of notes and the cake recipes in this chapter are so craveable to me. Also, the techniques and ingredients are not the usual so it’s a little bit more fun!
(The recipes in those sections include Peanut Butter and Chocolate Rye Cake, Chocolate Gingerbread Spelt Cake and Guinness and Hazelnut Chocolate Cake in the chocolate chapter; and Chocolate Cake with Potato Chip Toffee, Lemon Curd and Saltine Cracker Cake, Apple Cake with Pretzel Buttercream, Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding and Gjetost Caramel Cake in the salty sweet chapter).
EM: The book is not just recipes, but also tips for readers to throw their own cake picnics. What’s a piece of advice from the book that might surprise readers?
ES: The setting and environment for any event is so important! All of the tiny little details mean so much. From the background music to color schemes, each of these play an important role in creating the event mood and vibe. Plan early!
Aug. 7, 5-7 p.m. at Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park; $21.99 general admission or $53.49 including a copy of the book; keplers.org/upcoming-events-internal/cake-picnic. Participants can indicate when registering if they plan to bring a cake to share (not mandatory).
More information on the Cake Picnic Tour and cookbook is available at cakepicnictour.com. Upcoming tour dates will be announced via Instagram: @cakepicnictour.
Dig into food news. Follow the Peninsula Foodist on Instagram and subscribe to the newsletter to get insights on the latest openings and closings, learn what the Foodist is excited about eating, read exclusive interviews and keep up on the trends affecting local restaurants.
