Baking Cakes in Kigali Quotes

“There were people who knew about stars, who could tell you the name of every star in the sky. ... But she did not understand how it could be important to learn the name of every single star in the sky; surely it was better to know the name of every person in your street?”
― Gaile Parkin, Baking Cakes in Kigali

“What treasures lay inside! Yes, here were the colors that she had asked for: red, pink, yellow, blue, green, black- all in powder form, of course, not like the one or two bottles of liquid food color that were available at the Lebanese supermarket in town; those were not at all modern- some big blocks of marzipan, and, as always, June had included some new things for Angel to try. This time there were three tubes that looked rather like thick pens. She picked one upend examined it: written along its length were the words 'Gateau Graffito,' and underneath, written in uppercase letters, was the word 'red.' Reaching for the other two pens- one marked 'green' and the other 'black'- she saw a small printed sheet lying at the bottom of the bubblewrap nest. It explained that these pens were filled with food color, and offered a picture showing how they could be used to write fine lines or thick lines, depending on how you held them. It also guaranteed that the contents were kosher. Eh, now her cakes were going to be more beautiful than ever!”
― Gaile Parkin, Baking Cakes in Kigali

“Auntie, in Kinyarwanda we say that a hoe cannot be damaged by a stone that is exposed. I think it means that the truth will hurt us only if it remains hidden.”
― Gaile Parkin, Baking Cakes in Kigali

“You cannot have a secret in Kigali, Auntie. Eyes have no curtains here.”
― Gaile Parkin, Baking Cakes in Kigali

“Yes, like bread… I’ve watched the women making bread at the centre. The ingredients do nothing on their own, but when they’re all together, they stick together and rise. They get beaten down and they rise again.”
― Gaile Parkin, Baking Cakes in Kigali

“Francoise, my friend, you have educated me today. These things have not been easy for me to hear, but now I understand better. Thank you for telling me.”

“No, Angel, I am the one who must thank you. Thank you for being someone who has ears that want to hear my story and a heart that wants to understand it.”
― Gaile Parkin, Baking Cakes in Kigali

“Franchise, my friend, you have educated me today. These things have not been easy for me to hear, but now I understand better. Thank you for telling me.”

“No, Angel, I am the one who must thank you. Thank you for being someone who has ears that want to hear my story and a heart that wants to understand it.”
― Gaile Parkin, Baking Cakes in Kigali

“She thought of the cake that she was going to make for Solange's confirmation. She and Jeanne d'Arc had agreed on a vanilla cake in the shape of a Christian cross, white on top to convey purity and with a turquoise and white basketweave design piped around the sides to match the confirmation dress, which was white with turquoise ribbons threaded through it. Solange's name would be piped in turquoise across the top.”
― Gaile Parkin, Baking Cakes in Kigali

“The cakes were unanimously declared to be extremely delicious, and there was discussion about which type of icing would be more popular. Finally, agreement was reached that, while some adults might prefer the glace icing, children would probably prefer the butter icing- and that Therese could probably charge more for a cake with butter icing on it because it made the cake look a bit bigger.”
― Gaile Parkin, Baking Cakes in Kigali

“The oblong, one-layer cake was coated in powder-pink frosting. Around the sides of the cake the pink was decorated with white frills resembling lace. Both the top left corner and the bottom right corner of the upper surface were adorned with lilac roses and white rosebuds tipped with strawberry pink. And across the center of the cake, starting at the bottom corner on the left and sloping up towards the top corner on the right, was the baby's name in lilac cursive script: "Perfect.”
― Gaile Parkin, Baking Cakes in Kigali

“She had baked a simple round vanilla sponge cake in two layers with crimson icing between the layers. Then she had coated the cake with a vibrant turquoise blue icing. Across the top she had created a loose, open, basket-weave design in bright yellow bordered with piped yellow stars alternating with crimson stars, and she was now finishing off by piping scrolls of crimson around the base of the sides. It would be a handsome cake: beautiful, but at the same time masculine.”
― Gaile Parkin, Baking Cakes in Kigali

“Angel pushed the plate of cupcakes towards her guest, who had failed to comment on the colors- which were the colors of the Tanzanian flag- and had so far eaten only one: one of those iced in yellow that, on the flag, represented Tanzania's mineral wealth.”
― Gaile Parkin, Baking Cakes in Kigali