❤️ “All you need is love. But a little chocolate cake now and then doesn’t hurt.” ❤️
– Charles M. Schulz
Folks worldwide enjoy chocolate (and chocolate cake!) thanks to beans inside the fruit of cacao trees that grow in tropical climates of places like the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, Mexico and Hawai’i. Sacred to many cultures, cacao was first consumed widely by the ancient Mayans and Aztecs (in modern-day Central America and Mexico) as a spiced, often bitter beverage. According to Aztec myth, the god Quetzalcoatl planted cacao seeds he took from the Garden of Life as a gift to humans. The scientific name for chocolate, Theobroma, translates to “food of the gods.” If you’re chocolate-obsessed like me, that seems entirely appropriate.
January 27 is National Chocolate Cake Day, but I think you should celebrate any day you wish. There’s black forest cake, flourless chocolate cake, chocolate molten lava cake, chocolate cheesecake…the list goes on and on! Whether or not you choose tasty adventures to celebrate this delicious day, below are some books to stir up your imagination and sweeten the heart.
🎂 🍫 ✨🎂 🍫 ✨🎂 🍫 ✨🎂 🍫 ✨🎂 🍫 ✨🎂 🍫 ✨
For aspirational bakers seeking whimsy and pun-filled encouragement…
“Monster Baker”
by Laura Lavoie
A touching tale for the cocoa-curious…
“Grandpa Cacao: a Tale of Chocolate, From Farm to Family”
by Elizabeth Zunon
For children who are afraid of storms…
“Thunder Cake”
by Patricia Polacco
For a rollicking good time or to celebrate someone special…
“Whopper Cake”
by Karma Wilson and Will Hillenbrand
When one kind of cake just won’t cut it…
(great for visual learners)
🎂 🍫 ✨🎂 🍫 ✨🎂 🍫 ✨🎂 🍫 ✨🎂 🍫 ✨🎂 🍫 ✨
Nearly all the books above include chocolate cake recipes (except for “Monster Baker,” which features a recipe for cookies called chocolate cherry scaries👻). If you’re feeling adventurous, check out the library’s free digital resource, Lerner Maker Lab, and try “Instant Chocolate Cake”—a microwaveable mug cake. Lerner Maker Lab includes visual instructions for science experiments, crafts, and engineering projects, too.
mmm… mug cake
