# It's a surprise birthday party for you! What cake would you be happiest and least happy to find waiting on the table? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2024, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320 "2024-04-15T15:02:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/21 "2024-04-15T20:45:42Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Best: German Chocolate cake. Love that coconut/pecan frosting and the ‘not overwhelmingly chocolate’ but chocolate cake. > > Worst: Angel food cake with whipped up vanilla frosting. My wife loves German chocolate. For me the frosting has to be chocolate buttercream- and lots of it. (on some cakes sour cream or cream cheese is fine, like a carrot cake). My local bakery up in San Jose made an excellent chocolate buttercream angel food cake. But my fave is yellow cake. I also despise that whipped up “frosting”- it is too sweet and it is nasty. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/22 "2024-04-15T20:51:14Z")
Best: Mary’s chocolate cake with fudge frosting. It’s a family recipe. I’m sure it came from one of my grandmother’s cook books, but her maid made it for every grandchild, and my husband and i still make it. The cake has bakers chocolate and sour cream and while it has some baking powder, a lot of the rise is from 3 beaten egg whites. The frosting hardens fudge on the cake. So the whole cake is enrobed in fudge. As kids, we fought over scraps of the frosting. Least favorite would be supermarket cake with lots of crisco frosting. Or with “whipped cream” frosting that tastes like plastic. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/23 "2024-04-15T21:05:48Z")
Best: devil’s food with chocolate fudge buttercream icing (and vanilla ice cream, if that’s allowed). Spice cake with maple frosting would be lovely, too, since it’s much scarcer. Worst: it’s hard to think of one, because it’s all cake, right? But I suppose Funfetti, whatever the hell that’s supposed to be, with white icing. I’d still eat it, of course. Because it’s still cake. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/24 "2024-04-15T21:08:06Z")
I’m easy; I like almost any kind of cake. Caramel or cream-cheese frosting preferred. I guess I would be least-happy about anything with artificial fruit flavoring, but I’d still eat it. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/25 "2024-04-15T21:22:00Z")
Best: A moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Worst: A flourless chocolate cake…it’s like a disappointing brownie. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/26 "2024-04-15T21:45:07Z")
Black Forest Cake. Chocolate layer cake, with buttercream frosting and cherries in between the layers. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/27 "2024-04-16T03:00:12Z")
Sometimes, you have to swing at the softball and aim for the fences. And Potty Humor never hurts. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/28 "2024-04-16T03:21:02Z")
Best? A homemade rhubarb pie. But, no complaints if someone decided to give me a chocolate/chocolate cake, or a lemon cheesecake, or a pineapple upside-down cake. Worst? German chocolate cake. Hate that shredded coconut. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/29 "2024-04-16T06:07:35Z")
Best: No party at all. Worst: Returning to the table to find an empty urn with my name on it. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/30 "2024-04-16T10:57:17Z")
Add me to the list of people who don’t care for cake in its conventional forms. The cake part is dry and boring and the frosting is too sweet. Sometimes the cake designer will stick in a layer of jam to try to compensate for how much cake sucks, but to me this is like pouring maple syrup over beach sand. But if the rules change so we can start talking about other alternatives — brownies, blueberry muffins, a proper tarte tatin — then we’re in business. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/31 "2024-04-16T11:29:27Z")
I edited the title to make it clear it’s about cake, and moved the thread to cafe society. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/32 "2024-04-16T11:39:53Z")
Back in the 90s, I used to bake cakes for all my friends’ birthdays. One friend asked for a German chocolate cake. I went to the library and looked through the index of literally every cookbook that could possibly have a cake recipe, in vain. German chocolate cake was nowhere to be found. It was much later that I learned that German chocolate cake has nothing to do with Germany. Instead, it is named after German’s Chocolate, itself named for the company founder, Samuel German. > **[German chocolate cake](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_chocolate_cake)** > > German chocolate cake, originally German's chocolate cake, is a layered chocolate cake filled and topped with a coconut-pecan frosting. Originating in the United States, it was named after English-American chocolate maker Samuel German, who developed a formulation of dark baking chocolate that came to be used in the cake recipe. Sweet baking chocolate is traditionally used for the cake's flavor, but few recipes call for it today. The filling and/or topping is a custard made with egg yolks and eva... ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/33 "2024-04-16T13:24:53Z")
Ah… thanks. I should’ve known that. In fact i did indeed read it [here](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across/851674/9009). ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/34 "2024-04-16T15:29:30Z")
No worries! The only reason I remembered it is because of that hunt for a recipe. As for the OP: -My favorite cake is carrot cake, the kind my family makes, not too sweet and full of raisins and nuts spices, and with cream cheese frosting. It’s so rich and delicious, and although I normally am not a big cake fan, I love it. -Worst? Angel food cake. There are plenty of cakes that are mediocre, and cheap grocery store white cake is a very close follow-up; but Angel Food Cake is the least foodlike food I know of. If I have a bite, it’s only to remind myself what it’d feel like to eat a foam mattress. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/35 "2024-04-17T00:21:52Z")
Tough call … I’d be thrilled with cassata cake, German chocolate, coconut cake, tres leches … I’d not be thrilled with angel food or pineapple upside cake. Too many rubbery angel food cakes in my past, and I detest pineapple. I love cheesecake but do not consider it a true cake at all. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/36 "2024-04-17T01:24:39Z")
Best: Spice cake with cream cheese icing. (That’s what we had for our wedding cake.) A Black Forest torte or carrot cake would also do. Worst: Angel food. Ick. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/37 "2024-04-17T02:57:43Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > but Angel Food Cake is the least foodlike food I know of. If I have a bite, it’s only to remind myself what it’d feel like to eat a foam mattress. That’s what I said! But there’s an less foodlike food: those puffed rice biscuit thingies. I swear they’re stamped out of styrofoam. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/38 "2024-04-17T03:00:20Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > That’s what I said! But there’s an less foodlike food: those puffed rice biscuit thingies. I swear they’re stamped out of styrofoam. I find rice cakes strangely comforting. Haven’t eaten them in years, but they’re not like anything else, certainly not like cake, so I’ll happily eat one if offered. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/39 "2024-04-17T03:40:26Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Best: A moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Yup, that’s the one. Worst: Angel food or any really airy “cake” with no density to it. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320/40 "2024-04-17T03:48:11Z")
Best: spice cake with penuche frosting Worst: lemon cake. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-surprise-birthday-party-for-you-what-cake-would-you-be-happiest-and-least-happy-to-find-waiting-on-the-table/1000320.md?page=3)