This past Monday, August 6th, Jamaica celebrated 50 years of independence from Britain. The festivities here got off to a slow start primarily because we had a change of government in December and the word on the street is that the previous plans were scrapped. There was also a lot of talk that the government didn’t have the funds — at this moment, I have no idea where we stand in our talks with the IMF — so for a while, I wondered if we’d even have anything.
Meanwhile, Jamaicans in Canada, the US and the UK have been celebrating since last year. Whenever friends there would say they wished they could be here, I’d tell them they’d probably better off staying where they were as not too much was happening here.
Ernesto lost its steam overnight so today, Jamaicans are focusing on marking 50th years of Independence from Britain and celebrating big wins at the London Olympics. Our medal count’s now up to 2 golds, silver and bronze.
There’s no better way to celebrate than with this fabulous birthday cake that was featured recently in one of our local papers, The Daily Gleaner.
Happy 50th Birthday Jamaica
From the Jamaican Gleaner —
As we approach our country’s 50th anniversary, it seems Jamaican colours are popping up everywhere more than ever. Now you can have it in a cake.
A few months ago, wedding cake designer Shaun Grant, known for her amazing sugar creations, got an unusual request. “I was challenged to make a Jamaican cake,” she told Food. “The email I received said I seemed like the type of artist who could do something like that. I told her I would have to think about it.” And think she did. After only four failures, the owner of Delights came up with a cake representing the Jamaican flag in every slice.
The cake that fully embodies Jamaica’s 50th year of Independence was unveiled recently at a luncheon hosted by the Women Business Owners Network. But as Grant explains, the cake is pretty complicated and requires a lot of carving. “It’s actually three cakes in one – dark chocolate, cheese cake and green velvet cake – and it actually takes two hours to assemble free-hand.” The end result is a very moist cake that she guarantees tastes as good as it looks. She uses all fresh ingredients, noting, “It must not only look good, but it must also taste good.”
