It took a neighbourhood to make a cake, Isla Mujeres Mexico

Lawrie and I, with the cakes

I've been obsessing. Obsessing about a particular type of cake – Tropical Carrot Cake – stuffed full of plump raisins, chopped nuts, juicy pineapple chunks, and sweet coconut. Oh. So. Good.

Finding all of the ingredients was a bit of a challenge. I posted on my social media asking friends for the Spanish words for baking soda and baking powder so that I could find the items in the store. 

The responses flowed in, including where to find them; baking powder is usually shelved with flour and other baking supplies, but baking soda is in the pharmacy section of a store. Weird but true.

Lynda & Patty

Then several friends emailed offering to share their supply of baking soda, or baking powder, and oh, did I need anything else? Raisins! I couldn't find raisins on the island. No worries, Patty had extra raisins and her friend Steve, arriving from Cancun, would find me anything else I needed. Patty and Steve dropped them off at my house along with the baking soda. 

Dèanne & Brent

Dèanne said she had an extra unopened baking powder. A short time later, the bell on our front gate announced that her esposo, Brent, had arrived with the promised ingredient. 

That's the joy of living on a small island, in a close-knit community, friendly, helpful and caring.

Checking my list of ingredients, I realized I was still missing one item – liquid Coconut Cream for the icing. Rats! I started walking to the big grocery store about fifteen minutes southwest our our house, passing neighbourhood friends. “Hola Lynda” (pronounced Leenda), they greeted me as I walked past. “¿Cómo estás?” In the grocery store, I met up with Chuck, who offered me a ride home. I love this island.

Marcy & Chuck's kitchen - baking the cakes

On to the next step. Sifting, measuring, mixing the ingredients into the batter, and it's finally ready for the oven – but wait, we don't have an oven. We seldom bake, and having a hot appliance in my tropically warm kitchen just seemed so unnecessary. After a quick walk up the street to Marcy and Chuck's house, carrying a big bowl of cake batter, pans, and assorted utensils, I popped the cake pans into their oven. 

An aromatic thirty minutes later, and it was time, time to retrieve the pans, and pop in three more – because, of course, we needed two cakes, not just one. While I waited for the oven to do its magic, we relaxed on the deck, watching the multi-coloured Parrot Fish surf in the waves and the awkwardly graceful Pelicans gliding overhead. Living here is very different than our Canadian lives: wonderfully different.

Sombra, in Chuck & Marcy's golf cart

Eventually, all the batter was cooked, and Chuck gave me a ride in the golf cart back to our house. It was much easier than walking with two cakes, two bowls, and other assorted oddments. 

I smiled as we drove past Patricio's construction crew, working on a new house on our street. Several of the guys caught the scent of the freshly baked cakes, their noses twitching like Sparky, our little terrier-cross dog, wondering where and what that great smell was. Sorry, guys, not this time. I'll bake you something soon.

Later in the afternoon, the cakes had cooled, I slathered on the icing made of cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and the coconut cream. 

This is a cake that took a neighbourhood to create, and it was shared with the neighbourhood. Friends and family, nieces and nephews, old friends, and new friends – it was the best cake ever!

Que tengan lindo día

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas the Cat

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