History in a Cupcake

I love food, in fact my family loves food: growing it, baking it, cooking it, and of course eating it. Recently I had the good fortune to sample some cupcakes that have more than a 200 year history. So let the story begin:

The Portugese were among the earliest of the European explorers to come to Thailand. They arrived in the 1500's to trade and because of war time assistance to the Thai King, were given a plot of land near his new Capital, Thonburi, now part of Bangkok. Here they lived, inter-married with Thais, and established a Catholic Church now called Santa Cruz Church.

They practiced baking using charcoal ovens, simple ingredients and traditional recipes. These have been passed on from generation to generation within the community. I will share some of the details of my visit in this blog.

Lets start with the cakes (Khanom) and the bakeries. The cakes are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and are among the best of Thailand's bakery products. The cakes are only made in the small Santa Cruz Community but distributed widely. Here are a few images of the Communities bakeries:

The Santa Cruz Community is small and beautiful, it is the product of over 200 years of evolution. After enjoying the Portugese-Thai bakery, do take some time to walk around the community. It is truely unique and will give you a glimpse into this rich aspect of Asian History.

I hope you enjoyed this brief visit to the Santa Cruz Community in Bangkok, Thailand. May you be able to taste these cakes from history and walk the lovely lanes of this community.

Google Map of the Area     http://bit.ly/TPxmBV

One version of the Kanom recipe http://bit.ly/WL7rYE