"Paan-daan" cake

 

My grandfather liked to chew tobbacco in a the form of a little package containing betel nut (also called areca nut), and herbs and spices spices wrapped in a betel leaf termed as “paan”.  He had a beautifully hand carved silver box called a “paan daan” with little compartments for all the paan ingredients.  He gave a similar box to my Mom when she got married and I inherited it from her.  She never chewed paan so the box and its compartments are in pristine condition, never having been in contact with chemicals or herbs and spices.

Paan-daan is silverware that was very popular in South Asia during the 19th century. It was carried around by everyone and played a serious role in socialization ceremonies of that time. In those days, betel leaf and its seeds were also consumed by field workers and other rural inhabitants to suppress their hunger as it has a mild painkilling effects similar to a narcotic.

Today I used my mother’s silver paan-daan as an inspiration for this cake.  It is a carrot nut cake with cream cheese filling.  I covered it with silver leaf.  The handle was especially fun to make.