Tracks of Tradition

Vanilla cake batter in Williams Sonoma train pans before baking. (October 31, 2025) Photo by Parker Probst.

Tracks of Tradition

by Parker Probst

Cluttered counters, scattered candies, and small pans drenched in butter filled my vision the moment I stepped through the door. Every December, my mom would pull me out of school early so we could bake our special train cakes. The golden, train-shaped cakes were a staple decoration in our kitchen come winter, replacing the conventional gingerbread house. But it was never just about cake. Time with my mom was rare; a doctor is always busy after all. Once a year, however, she would take the day off just for me and our train cakes. I used to think our train cakes began in that kitchen, but their story started long before I was born.

Prior to our train cakes, railroad cakes were all the rage in the mid-1800s. These dense, pound-cake-like loaves were meant to survive long rides on the newly built intercontinental railroad (“Cake Day”). Generally, the recipes targeted producing lots of gluten, which kept the cakes sturdy and preserved their shape (“Cake Day”; Godefroidt et al.). Railroad cake itself is a reflection of the industrial age—how people were innovating everywhere, not just with machinery (“Cake Day”). And yet, in my family, the real innovation wasn’t the recipe at all.

For centuries, cake was shaped by privilege; sugar and spices were far too expensive for the common household. Only once technology caught up, with industrialized ovens and mass ingredient production, did cake become a common treat (“Brief History of Cake”). Despite all of this, my family’s cake history wasn’t inherited from the past; it was something my mom invented all on her own.

When I finally asked where the idea came from, she just texted me a link—no explanation at all. Our train cakes were derived from the Williams Sonoma recipe, which also created the intricate molded pans we baked with. But upon reviewing the website, one thing became glaringly obvious: my mom lied to me about the origin of the train cakes. For years, I believed they were ours. A cherished family recipe. In reality, we had no inherited recipes at all. Yet, every Christmas, she created an entire world just for the two of us, stealing me away from school early, filling the kitchen with bowls of candy, clouds of powdered sugar, and letting the stand mixer whir as background music.

Following the train cake recipe, we withdrew tiny golden sponges out of the oven, surfaces glistening with excess butter. Once popped out of the tin and placed onto a cooling rack, warm vanilla perfumed the air, not harsh, but nostalgic. Each car was firm to the touch, a brown crust dusting the edges. We’d spend the afternoon gluing on gumdrops with icing. Then we’d create a winter scene for the trains, with licorice rails and sugar snow dusted over top. When it came time to eat, buttery vanilla gave way to a subtle richness that melted slowly in your mouth, spreading warmth rather than sweetness.

Baked train cakes out of the oven and placed onto a cooling rack. (October 31, 2025) Photo by Parker Probst.

Finished candy-decorated train cakes placed on Twizzler train tracks and dusted with powdered sugar snow. (October 31, 2025) Photo by Parker Probst.

Still, it was just cake. Reflecting on the tradition recently and baking the cakes myself, I determined there really was nothing special about them; I just love cake. However, my revisit led me to another conclusion about my mom, mirrored in this 1982 newspaper article about holiday baking: “A child insists that the celebration repeat the pattern of ‘last year,’ precisely…The renewal of every cherished custom seems to inspire recognition of the younger person he or she was in Christmas Past, and reaffirms the now grown-up self of Christmas Present”(Mattila). The magic of the tradition had nothing to do with the cakes. And just like the adaptations to recipes in the past, train cake was my mom’s best innovation yet. It was her genius excuse for fabricating nostalgia by making a tradition between the two of us.

Nowadays, the custom has faded under the light of mutual busyness, but the cakes still pop into my mind every December. I’ll always yearn for the oblivion of childhood—especially during the holidays—but my spirit never truly left. At midnight on November first, my signature Christmas jazz playlist will fill the room, hot chocolate will leave traces of peppermint, and fuzzy slippers will warm my feet. Quiet promises to the past, even when I can’t bake train cakes or spend as much time with my family, can still live up to the ritual holiday cheer my mom instilled in me. The routine baking of train cakes may have been lost, but the spirit it kindled within me continues to burn bright.

Works Cited

“All Aboard for National Cake Day! A Sweet Journey through History.” Canadian Association of Railway Suppliers, 26 Nov. 2024, railwaysuppliers.ca/news/all-aboard-for-national-cake-day-a-sweet-journey-through-history-2024-11-26. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.

Godefroidt, Thibault, et al. “Ingredient Functionality During Foam‐Type Cake Making: A Review.” Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, vol. 18, no. 5, 21 Aug. 2019, pp. 1550–1562. Institute of Food Technologists, doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12488. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.

Marie, Shannon. “Brief History of Cake.” The Flowering Hearth, 13 Dec. 2020, thefloweringhearth.wordpress.com/2020/11/29/brief-history-of-cake/. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.

Mattila, Nancy. “Holiday Baking: A Cherished Part of Childhood: Parent & Child.” The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Dec. 1982, p. 20. ProQuest, proxy.lib.umich.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/holiday-baking-cherished-part-childhood/docview/512312146/se-2?accountid=14667. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.

Probst, Parker. Photo of cake-batter filled train pans in the kitchen. 31 Oct. 2025. Author’s personal collection.

Probst, Parker. Photo of decorated train cakes assembled to create a winter scene.31 Oct. 2025. Author’s personal collection.

Probst, Parker. Photo of freshly baked train cakes cooling on rack. 31 Oct. 2025. Author’s personal collection.

“Vanilla Train Cake.” William Sonoma. williams-sonoma.com/recipe/vanilla-train-cake.html. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.

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