I recently started watching a show called “High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America.” This led to a conversation with a friend, and we started by talking about the kind of food we grew up eating. Then, we shifted to baked goods and what types of cakes we enjoyed.
Food has always been part of our culture. I shared with her that my favorite is a homemade German chocolate cake. The more we talked, I went further to say that I never thought about it before, but I am a German Chocolate Girl.
I am the product of a German mother and an African American father. I have always known and felt that I come from a rich history on both sides of my family, but I have not explored my German heritage as much as my Black history. There are many reasons for this, mainly because I did not grow up with my biological mother.
However, later in life, as I got to know my maternal side of the family, I became more intrigued. I am learning more every day that I am truly a rich blend of cultures, histories, and flavors.
There are a few things in life that connect us all, such as food and music, and I happen to have a rich history of both in my family. My paternal grandmother, Mother Dear, always had something cooking on the stove and made sure there was enough in case an unexpected guest stopped by hungry. She also made several desserts, such as banana pudding, peach cobbler, and, of course, German chocolate cake.
My grandmother’s German chocolate cakes were made from scratch—no box cake mix, no canned frosting. Everything was made with fresh, flavorful ingredients. Her generation did not have or believe in shortcuts when it came to cooking and baking. Everything she made was delicious, and you could never get enough.
Her German chocolate cakes were sweet, full of nuts, and made up of multiple layers. It’s funny because when I look at my life, I see that I, too, am made up of multiple layers—with a few nuts here and there.
As I think about the metaphor of what German chocolate cake means to me, it symbolizes how two very different cultures came together to create a human being who would make them proud and produce multiple generations to come. When we think about it, we all have various ingredients in our lives. We come from rich backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities that we should be proud of and share with our children and grandchildren.
In telling this story, I found it fascinating that German chocolate cake did not originate in Germany but rather right here in America—just like me. It was named after an English American chocolate maker, Samuel German, and the recipe was created by a woman from Dallas in 1957, approximately four years before I was born.
Just like the cake I love so much; I love the rich history of both sides of my family. This German Chocolate Girl, born in California, finds it ironic that German chocolate cake shares a few quirky similarities with me. My mother’s roots trace back to Germany, my father was originally from Texas, and somehow both of my cultures found a way to converge and create me.
We all have unique intricacies that make up our personal stories. Some contain a little bitterness, and some throw in a few nuts here and there, but let us never forget the sweetness that can also be part of our recipe. I hope someone reading this can let this German Chocolate Girl know where I can find a homemade, authentic German chocolate cake.
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Visit www.WendyGladney.com and www.forgivingforliving.org to learn more. Wendy is a life strategist, coach, consultant, author, and speaker.
