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Sophie Messager

Tag: cake

  • Why I want to change the nature of postnatal support

    Why I want to change the nature of postnatal support

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    Earlier this week I wrote a blog that’s been playing on my mind for many years. It’s called “why I wish I had hired a postnatal doula“

    In this blog I explain how challenging I found new motherhood, how lonely and upset I felt through those early weeks and how I longed for some support but failed to reach out because of a mix of shame for not loving every minute of being a mother, and feeling like I couldn’t justify the expense.

    As a doula, I witness the same challenge in new mothers. Sometimes I do not even know they are struggling until weeks later, because, whilst they sit in the same pit of discomfort and shame as I did, thinking they are the only one that struggle, they don’t usually reach out for help do they?

    I have written before about the topic of making a postnatal recovery plan, and about what new mothers really need, and you’re not meant to be doing this on your own (hint: it’s not flowers or stuffed bears).

    The wisdom in traditional postpartum practises around the world is very simple really, it boils down to 4 main elements of support for the mother:

    • Rest (someone takes care of the chores)
    • Food ( someone takes care of cooking good, nutritious meals)
    • Social support (the new mother is never alone at home with a baby)
    • Bodywork (someone massages the new mother, along with wrapping her hips/abdomen)

    I have a strong urge to write more about this, to spread the word further, I have a list of blogs as long as my arm about this topic, and in fact I now am thinking I need to write a book, or possibly more than one book, about this topic. Something easy to share, I might start with an ebook, like the one I have already written about rebozo techniques.

    I’m a knowledge junkie, so since I started learning about some postpartum practises, I’ve asked everybody I’ve met about the traditional practices from their country, and you know what, every continent in the world has some form of specific nurturing, specific foods, and bodywork and wrapping.

    After all, you’ve not only grown and birthed a whole new human, your body has accommodated this through tremendous changes.

    During pregnancy, the uterus grows from the size of a pear to the size of a watermelon (pushing abdominal organs out of the way, changing the shape of your muscles, ligaments and spine as it does so), then back again after birth.

    It seems crazy to me that nobody makes sure that all the organs, muscles, joints and ligaments have safely returned where they belong.

    I bake a groaning cake for all mothers I support, and sometimes make a traditional Chinese chicken soup too (my husband is from Hong Kong, and there is still a very strong postpartum nurturing culture there)

    Learning to massage and wrap new mothers had lead me onto a journey of discovery about postpartum practises, got me to work closely with an osteopath, create a new type of massage, and develop my skills in an apprenticeship manner. The two combined led me to develop a deep practical knowledge of what happens to women bodies after birth.

    This has fuelled a fire that makes me want to shout from the rooftops that what we get in the Western world just isn’t good enough, and want to work hard to change that.

    If this resonates with you, and you would like to learn some of these nurturing skills, I am running some Rebozo and Postnatal Recovery Massage courses in July-see https://sophiemessager.com/workshops-birth-professionals/

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  • Nurturing postpartum recipes : groaning cake

    I love expressing my nurturing nature to new mamas by giving them something delicious and nourishing to eat, and what is more nourishing than a home baked cake?

     

    After reading Ami McKay “The birth house” a few years ago,  I started baking this traditional cake called a groaning cake for my doula clients. The birth house is the story of a traditional midwife in Nova Scotia in the mid 1900’s.

    To quote Ami :

    “The tradition of the groaning cake, or kimbly at (or following) a birth is an ancient one. Wives’ tales say that the scent of a groaning cake being baked in the birth house helps to ease the mother’s pain. Some say if a mother breaks the eggs while she’s aching, her labour won’t last as long. Others say that if a family wants prosperity and fertility, the father must pass pieces of the cake to friends and family the first time the mother and baby are churched (or the first time they go to a public gathering) after a birth. Many cultures share similar traditions
a special dish, bread, or drink, spiced with cinnamon, all spice, and/or ginger. At one time there was even a groaning ale made to go with it
”

    I have since discovered that the tradition originated from the UK, and that the postpartum period was called “the groaning”. Apart from the cake itself, there was also a tradition, originating from Oxfordshire, of eating groaning cheese,  a large wheel of cheese, which was eaten  starting from the middle, and once hollowed out, the baby was passed through the cheese for good luck.

    Recipe:

    2 œ cups (or 325g) Flour

    3 eggs

    4 tsp. baking powder

    œ cup (or 110ml) oil

    œ cup(or 118ml) orange juice

    1 tbs mixed spice

    Πcup (or 90g) black treacle (I like to use 1/2 cup, as it makes the cake darker and gooier)

    1 1/3 cups (or 260g) brown sugar (I’ve used dark muscovado sugar and it gives the cake an even gooier and dark sticky texture which I love)

    1 œ cups (approx 100g) grated apple

    1tsp vanilla extract

    1 tsp. almond extract

    Sift dry ingredients together. Add eggs, oil, orange juice, black treacle and sugar. Add almond and vanilla extract. Mix well. Add grated apple. Mix well. Pour into lined and greased loaf tins. Bake at 180 C (160 if  using a fan oven). for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Makes two loaves.

     

    groaning cake 2

    I bake a groaning cake when I go on-call for a birth (I freeze the cake and take it with me when she calls in labour-by the time the baby is born the cake has usually thawed, and the freezing and thawing seems to make the cake more gooey and cakey, yum!).  I like to share the cake between the new parents and the midwife/birth team. I also bring one to my new postnatal clients. I have yet to meet a mum who hasn’t loved its taste.

    I have baked a gluten free version for clients using Dove farm gluten free flour, and it worked well if a little drier.

    Recently I also made a vegan paleo version, it’s more puddingy than cakey, but it still hits the spot,  here is the recipe:

    1œ cups almond flour

    1 tablespoon coconut flour

    2 teaspoons baking powder

    2 flax eggs (mix 1 tbsp of ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons water for each egg replacement, and leave to rest until it becomes thick)

    1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

    1/2  cup coconut sugar

    1/4 cup fresh orange juice

    1/4 cup black treacle

    1 tablespoon mixed spices

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    1 teaspoon almond extract

    3/4 cup grated apple

    bake at 160 for 30 min or until cooked.

    I started eating a ketogenic diet in 2018, so I have now concocted a Keto groaning cake recipe :

    • 4 tablespoons butter, melted (coconut oil for dairy free)
    • 4 eggs
    • 1 cup ground almonds
    • 1/2 cup coconut flour
    • 4 teaspoons baking powder
    • 2 tbsp black treacle (OK so not technically sugar free-but I think the amount is low enough)
    • 1/4 cup xylitol(or more to taste)
    • 1/2 cup orange squash (sugar free)
    • 1 cup grated courgette
    • 2 tablespoons mixed spices
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 1 teaspoon almond extract
    • 2 handfuls blueberries

    In 2021 I started using a different version, because a lot of my local friends are both gluten free and vegan, and I wanted the holy grail of groaning cake: A keto, gluten free and vegan versio

    Keto vegan gluten free groaning cake

    Vegan with egg replacer

    • 5 Eggs at room temperature (For the vegan version I use 5 “eggs” worth of Egg replacer, which you can find in most supermarkets.
    • 3/4 cup Erythritol (or xylitol)
    • 1/2 cup Coconut oil
    • 2 cups ground almonds
    • 1/4 cup Coconut Flour
    • 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
    • 1/4 cup of black treacle
    • 1 cup grated apple (or courgette if you prefer)
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 teaspoon almond extract
    • 2 tablespoon mixed spices

    It has a better texture than the previous recipe (although still quite pudding like)

    Enjoy, and please do comment with your experiences/taste of this cake!