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What is cake?

DeSpereaux

After a bunch of mental-acrobatics and complex-philosophical consideration. I have decided to challenge this idea, at least in my own mind, of what cake is..

Does a cake always have to be sweet, and not savoury, or can it also be savoury? If the former is true, who made it so, and are they correct..?

If there is no patron of the cake, if there is no rule on sweetness being the core-component, then is it we who have created this guise which enshrouds the true-nature and potential of cake. If there is a sin present, in the presentation of cake as savoury, have we not created the sin in believing that it so..?

So I ask you this, what do you see, when you envision a cake that is savoury and why?

Parents

  • Well, now I'm thinking about cake! I'm a big fan of cake in its multitude of forms. Long ago, I was a competitive baker of cakes and won several prizes. 

    But to answer you question. I think of an oatcake first. Probably this is due to oatcakes being always available in my house for daily consumption. I also think of potato cake. Both responses are due to my long familiarity with these types of cake, in turn due to my Scottish parentage. 

    On a tangent, here is a story about cake. Once, in one of my many job incarnations, I was part of a project by Public Health England to create an online advisory package aimed at improving the public diet by reducing sugar consumption. 

    I vividly recall sitting in a meeting with some high level people. There were some pretty extreme views going on there, in my humble opinion of course. 

    But, to the point, or we'll be here all day, I am known to labour the point...

    One idea that literally met with applause was that we could suggest replacing celebratory cakes with carrot sticks and yoghurt. Yay! 

    But, I said, that won't work, because cake is socially embedded in British culture. It has layers of meaning as well as layers of sugary icing! 

    They looked at me blankly. They were not amused. 

    And yet, cake is still with us for all celebratory occasions - and carrot sticks and yoghurt are not. Slight smile

Reply

  • Well, now I'm thinking about cake! I'm a big fan of cake in its multitude of forms. Long ago, I was a competitive baker of cakes and won several prizes. 

    But to answer you question. I think of an oatcake first. Probably this is due to oatcakes being always available in my house for daily consumption. I also think of potato cake. Both responses are due to my long familiarity with these types of cake, in turn due to my Scottish parentage. 

    On a tangent, here is a story about cake. Once, in one of my many job incarnations, I was part of a project by Public Health England to create an online advisory package aimed at improving the public diet by reducing sugar consumption. 

    I vividly recall sitting in a meeting with some high level people. There were some pretty extreme views going on there, in my humble opinion of course. 

    But, to the point, or we'll be here all day, I am known to labour the point...

    One idea that literally met with applause was that we could suggest replacing celebratory cakes with carrot sticks and yoghurt. Yay! 

    But, I said, that won't work, because cake is socially embedded in British culture. It has layers of meaning as well as layers of sugary icing! 

    They looked at me blankly. They were not amused. 

    And yet, cake is still with us for all celebratory occasions - and carrot sticks and yoghurt are not. Slight smile

Children