May the 4th marks Star Wars Day. Coincidentally, World Password Day, celebrated on the first Thursday in May, falls on May 4th, 2023. What a perfect excuse to bake a Darth Vader cake and write about passwords!
Darth Vader and passwords — is there something in common?
The combination of Star Wars Day and World Password Day is fascinating. Is there something in common with Star Wars and passwords? Well, If you think about Star Wars, something that soon comes to mind is Darth Vader. How does this dark, cloaked figure relate to passwords, then? I think lots.
Let’s compare.
- Darth Vader is pretty tall. Passwords should also have enough length to be strong enough.
- Speaking about strength, passwords should be strong to prevent guessing and brute-forcing attacks. Darth Vader is apparently strong with the Force.
- Darth Vader is a bit scary. Passwords can be frightening, too, if they are leaked. I bet many people in the Star Wars universe hated Darth Vader because of this. I happen to hate passwords.
- Darth Vader is behind a mask, so his face is hidden. Passwords should also be kept secret.
- Darth Vader has Jedi powers. Passwords wield the power of letting you log in and access confidential information or perform actions.
- Darth Vader seemed very evil. However, towards the end, he found some good in himself. Many think passwords are the root of all evil because they are easily phished and may not give the best security. And the amount of passwords you end up having is horrendous. However, often passwords are easy to implement and a good enough way to authenticate users.
Darth Vader cake
Years ago, I saw a cake pan shaped like Darth Vader’s helmet in an online store. Immediately I knew that I must have it. It was so awesome!
This time, I tried the recipe that came with the cake pan. After some interpretation of the German text and guesswork of what “1 packet of baking powder” might be, this is the recipe I used:
- 225 g margarine
- 160 g sugar
- 3 eggs
- 270 g wheat flour
- 100 g cocoa powder
- 1,5 dl lactose-free milk
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
Butter the inside of the cake pan and sprinkle fine breadcrumbs on it. At least The Darth Vader pan has many small details that you need to be thorough! Preheat the oven to 180 ºC.
Beat the butter and sugar into a foam. Add the eggs and mix well. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and vanilla sugar. Add about half of the flour mix to the dough. Pour in the milk and add the rest of the flour mix. Mix well.
Pour the dough into the cake pan. Leave room for the cake to rise. If there is any leftover dough, you can make cupcakes in coffee mugs in the microwave (1-1.5 minutes in 800 W will probably do).
Bake the cake for 35-45 minutes. The original recipe said 45 minutes, and I kept mine for 40 minutes. I think 35 minutes would have been enough since the result was a bit dry.
Let the cake cool for 5-15 minutes before turning it around and removing the pan.
Filling and decoration:
- Milk
- Raspberry jam
- Powdered sugar
Cool the cake thoroughly and cut it into two layers. Moisten the bottom layer with a few spoonfuls of milk. Cover the bottom layer with raspberry jam. Cover the eyes and the mask slits with baking paper. Dust powdered sugar through a sifter on top of the cake. Let the cake moisten in the fridge.
This time I decorated the cake simply with powdered sugar. Maybe next time, I’ll try black marzipan for a proper Darth Vader look… 😊
Enjoy, and may strong passwords be with you!
Bake Security In 