Is my method of eating layer cakes really that unusual and noteworthy?

Cafe Society
1

Prompted by a statement in an e-mail by my lady friend to the effect that she’ll work hard at accomodating my quirks and, inter alia, look the other way whenever she sees me eating a cake.

Several friends and acquaintances have joshed me about my manner of eating (esp. layered) cakes.

The standard method that I see others do seems to be mainly:

  1. (optional) lay your slice of cake on it’s side, especially if it’s too narrow to be stable upright
  2. cut bits off with your fork, cutting in parallel with the axis of the cake’s rotational symmetry, e.g. across all layers

My method is:

  1. Leave the slice upright if at all possible.
  2. If there is a creamy exterior top-to-bottom coating, eat that first. If there is a marzipan coating, gently flay it off and eat the pieces.
  3. Otherwise eat each layer separately, from top to bottom
  4. For creamy layers, strip-mine with the fork, in small bites, leaving the firm layer below untouched.
  5. For firm layers (or the bottom), cut off and eat chunks, leaving the creamy layer below (if any) untouched. (Oh! the anticipation, looking forward to the creamy layer)
  6. If not yet down to the plate, go to step 3.

Is my method (layerwise instead of all layers together) really that unusual and noteworthy? My lady friend insists that the point of layer cakes is to have parts of all layers blended in each bite.

2

Any method of eating cake that is more complicated than

1.) Spear piece with fork
2.) Insert cake into mouth

is strange and its practitioners should be regarded with fear and suspicion.

3

I would agree with this. Frosting is not meant to be eaten by itself; it is a “condiment” for the cake.

I hesitate to ask how you eat a sandwich—a BLT for example. (“First I eat the top slice of bread, then I lick off all the mayo, then I eat the bacon, then I eat the lettuce, then I eat the tomato, then I eat the bottom slice of bread.”)

Granted, your method isn’t altogether unlike the way some misguided souls eat an Oreo, but eating the layers of an Oreo separately is a clear sign of arrested development.

4

If someone is telling you you’re eating your layer cake wrong, I’d worry about them being a control freak. Eat it any way that gives you the most pleasure. You are obviously more of a connoisseur than your friends and less of a sheep.

5

I used to eat lasagne one layer at a time. Then I grew up.

6

Your method seems a bit…gauche. Not something I’d suggest doing in formal settings. Nobody cares how you eat cake on your couch while watching TV.

7

Unusual? Yes. Noteworthy? No.

8

I’m very happy that I probably will never eat in your presence.

I’m a member of the save-the-best-for-the-last school, so I lay the piece on its side, eat the cake, then the frosting.

And yes, I eat sandwiches perimeter-first, and pizza crust-first.

As long as the food isn’t flying off the plate, why should anyone else care?

9

I can take or leave cake, but I have a love for white icing that is unequal to most any other food.

I eat the cake first and then the icing. Simes I leave the cake and just eat the icing. Sometimes I eat the icing left on other people’s plates.

10

This is the downside of my saving the best for last. You have to guard it with your life.

11

Yes. If you eat all the cake first and save the nummynummy icing for last, inevitably someone will swoop down and say “Don’t you like the icing?” and snatch your plate away while your fork is still in your hand. Sometimes you have to [del]kick someone in the shins[/del] ask politely to get it back.

12

You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.

13

But if you separate the frosting for last, you can halve your cake and eat it, too.

14

So am I, but I believe that cake-plus-frosting is better than either one by itself.

As I said, I consider the frosting a condiment. I would no more save it for last than I would save the mustard for last when eating a hot dog.

15

What is the true purpose of this thread? The OP knows that his method is unusual. He clearly states the “standard” method and then his method.

16

You’re an adult. Eat your cake any damn way you want to. Put ketchup on it. Eat it instead of dinner. If the naysayers complain, stab them to death with your fork and then continue eating.

17

I’m your evil twin. I LOVE cake, but I’m meh about frosting. Most cakes simply have too much of it for my taste. So if we ever eat cake together, I’ll save you my frosting if you save me your cake, okay?

18

Your method of eating cake is weird and unnatural, and should probably be taken as indication of flawed character and morals.

However, to actually comment on such to you shows even more flawed character and morals.

The proper response should have been to smile thinly without comment as you enjoy your cake, and then mercilessly critique and mock you once out of earshot. O tempora, o mores. tsk

19

I am sitting at my desk reading this and eating pretzels scooped in white frosting. The good kind, that I made from scratch and butter and real vanilla, not the abomination that comes in the can. (I didn’t use all of it on my sister’s birthday cake.) It is fantastic.

That said, yes, most people do like a bit of cake and frosting together. Dissecting cake is a bit unusual. But hey, have at it. No skin off my nose.

20

Yeah, that’s weird and a little annoying, and the sandwich analogy aptly highlights the oddity of your method.