I cringe a little bit every time I think about Warren G. Harding.
You see, in the summer of 1994 there was a song called Regulate that played on the radio all of the time This song was by Nate Dogg and Warren G. Knowing that there were scandals in Warren G. Harding’s presidency and knowing that rappers often make clever allusions, I just assumed that Warren G’s name had something to do with Warren G. Harding.
You can stop laughing now.
Poor Warren G. Harding. He is one of those presidents that many people don’t take seriously at all. It doesn’t help that he launches one of the pockets of presidents many people don’t know about. Wilson? Yes, heard of him. Harding, Coolidge? Ehhh. Hoover? Hoovervilles, the Great Depression. Where’s Roosevelt? If you type his name into Google, the suggestions are: Warren G. Harding football, Warren G. Harding death, and Warren G. Harding black. That is not a sign of someone history is being kind to.
Speaking of Warren G. Harding’s death, there is speculation that it could have been a murder. His cause of death generally accepted to be congestive heart failure, but some people believe that his wife poisoned him. Harding was one of the presidents with lady trouble. By lady trouble, I mean more than one lady out there. Allegedly, he fathered a child outside of his marriage with a mistress. This, along with his wife’s refusal to allow an autopsy to be performed, is what makes people think that his wife poisoned him.
Collectively, we tend to remember scandals. In this regard, Harding’s administration gave us plenty to remember. There were scandals with the justice department and with the prohibition bureau. There were others, but perhaps the best known, the one consistently covered in history classes is the Teapot Dome Scandal. A scandal with a name like that is perfect for cupcake interpretation.
The cake:
Though the Teapot Dome scandal was about oil. The Teapot cupcake is about tea. The cake itself is flavored with black tea. I wanted to be able to really taste the tea in the cupcake, so I added it in two ways. I steeped tea bags in the milk that went into this cake, and also finely ground loose tea with a spice grinder. That tea was added directly to the cake batter. The cupcake has a bit of lemon curd filling. Finally, it is frosted with whiskey buttercream frosting. I know, I know, Warren G. Harding was president during prohibition. However, he wasn’t known for being a member of the dry movement.
I liked this cupcake, but it wasn’t the biggest hit. I think that the tea-flecked cupcakes made people think that this cupcake was a whole wheat cupcake. Now, I’m not hating on whole wheat, but I think that there are some wheat haters out there. This was the first cupcake that someone described by saying, “It’s okay.” Hopefully, I’ll return to normalcy with the next cupcake. President Harding would appreciate that.
