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Cakes and Celebrations: Bakeries of Karachi

Baked goods are an integral part of Pakistani cuisine as a form of celebration as well as the daily sweet treat. Numerous brands and bakeries have become household names in Karachi like Bake Parlour, Crispo Bakery, Misquita and Bombay Bakery. From catering to everyday items such as breads, buns, loaf cakes and naans, to occasion-type food like pineapple cakes, black-forest cake and coffee cakes, these businesses have a myriad of production complexities, secret recipes and specific clientele.  Some of these businesses exist as a chain of stores, some are within restaurants/hotels, and some are singular stand alone ‘hallmark’ shops in Karachi. But the availability of baked breads and cakes in a South Asian metropolis such as Karachi, has a nuanced and complex history through a record of colonialism and its’ impact on ingredients, imports, adjusting to climate and an overall confluence of food culture. In this week-long survey of bakeries in Karachi, 6 students, investigated how different cakes, recipes, shops and packaging , are a result of the tastes and palettes of millions of citizens across Karachi. Documenting refrigerator displays and the behind-the-scenes set-up  of bakeries and cakes, this  project was a response to a Professional Practices course called ‘Name, Place, Animal, Thing’ where collaborative learning, concise storytelling and visual anthropology were tools applied to better understand and depict urban stories which are sometimes forgotten.

Photographs, field research and text were composed by students of the graduating class of 2024 Zehra Qazi, Zunera Rashid, Neha Fatima, Anmol Babar, Ariba Asif, Ushna Aman

You can view their Story Map or download the PDF conversion of the Story Map here: Cakes & Celebrations in Karachi

Childhood connections with cakes and their changing purposes in celebratory occasions

Cakes have long been a symbol of celebration and have added a distinctive sweetness to many of life’s most significant moments. As a staple in rituals of celebration and gift-giving, cakes have been our go-to dessert for marking special occasions. While the cultural tradition of “mun meetha karna” during religious holidays like Eid, Navroze and Christmas and holds its place, birthdays have consistently been the most prominent event for which cakes have taken center stage. This realization led 6 students to revisit and scan old childhood photographs, reflecting on the cakes once relished and looked forward to.

”Many of the cakes we documented and thought about, experienced a natural rise and fall in terms of popularity and have evolved and grown just as we ourselves have grown up  and changed in our outlooks of  Karachi. Still sweet, still delicious, but undeniably different. This sparked our curiosity about the cakes of the past and present, ultimately inspiring us to explore the bakeries we grew up visiting.”

Cakes with cartoon characters, candles and sometimes large marzipan decorations are reoccurring no matter the trend but flavors, choice of icing and colors are a result of global taste palettes in Karachi. The Red velvet, New York Cheesecake or Tres Leches may be the new kids on the block but they reflect a change in our understanding of glamour, celebration and taste.

Secret recipes and guarded kitchens

During their exploration of bakeries and cake-making, the students aimed to learn more about the kitchens where cakes are created. However, visits to larger bakery chains encountered a continuous obstacle—none of the bakeries were willing to show their kitchens. They cited vague company policies and mentioned that cake-making, in particular, is a closely guarded secret, believing that this confidentiality is a key factor in their cakes’ popularity. They were also reluctant to reveal where they sourced their raw materials. While a few managers acknowledged that they obtain supplies from sugar and flour mills, they did not disclose specific details. The privacy and secrecy of recipes is a well observed in South Asian kitchens from grandmothers recipe books to small catering companies, to large restaurants and bakeries. Whether these recipes include an unusual mix of spices or preservation techniques, it is clear that the kitchen is not as communal as we would like to believe. It has limitations, niche fortes and years of inherited memories.

Is there an etymological explanation of cakes?

The exact origins of the cake as we know it today is not entirely clear, but it likely originates from the word kaka, a word in the medieval languages spoken in Norway, Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden or the Latin work; coquere (to cook). Originally, in the 13th century, the term referred to a ”little, flat, circular loaf of bread” but over time, the meaning of cake evolved and its additions such as raisins, nuts and confectionary. Perhaps cakes only came to be the celebratory treat we recognize today with late 18th Century trade of flour and sugar. The Dutch and Portuguese East India Companies fought for trading rights along the coast of India in the 15th Century and their presence alongside  setting up ‘factories’ led to the development and knowledge of floury biscuits and spongey tea-time treats. Perhaps it was the Portuguese who also introduced various culinary techniques such as oven-baking, sugarcane processing, and sugar glazes to Indian businesses such as Dotiwalla Bakery in Surat, Gujarat. The use of pastry as a pocket for fillings became most popular in Southeast Asian, where initially the consumption of bread was unheard of. Trade led to adaptations of European pastries and buns, such as pang susi and curry puffs, which were influenced by Iberian dishes like empada.

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