The Great Cake Debate

[supertinks]

So last night J and I popped round to see the Moores for "tea and cake". Amonst many pleasant discussions, we got involved in a rather protracted argument about the nature of cake. For Dave had gone out and bought a cheesecake, a fact which both Tamsin and I were a little confused about, since we would classify it as a dessert, and would expect something more traditional like a Victoria sponge, if we were having tea and cake.[Poll #1598802]

Comments

[hungry-pixel.livejournal.com]

In "other" you can include any and all flavours of cake - choc cake (but not choc FUDGE cake; that is a dessert!), brownies, carrot cake, coffee and walnut cake, etc. Something that involves a sponge is crucial to what "cake" is.

I might also include scones or tart in a "tea and cakes" afternoon tewa, but that doesn't mean I think they're cakes, just that they're appropriate examples of things to serve.

mmm. Cake.

[supertinks.livejournal.com]

the criteria I was working on was "can I dip this in my tea if I so choose?". if the answer was yes, then it was ok, if the answer was no, it wasn't.

One of my colleagues used the classification of "if you'd find it on the dessert menu of a restaurant, then it's not tea-and-cake cake, it's a dessert" which precludes choc fudge cake, cheesecake etc but not the rest of the cakes, just as you've said.

[violetnights.livejournal.com]

If I was pushed, I'd call it a dessert, but I'll admit I really wouldn't give a stuff what people classify it as. You'd be serving me sweet things, dammit. I have a one track mind when it comes to stuff like this :)

[putrescine.livejournal.com]

Cheese cake doesn't go hard when it's stale, therefore it's not a cake. Tax law says so. Likewise pavlova.

Most if not all sponge-based articles, pastries such as tarts and Danish pastries together with tortes are all acceptable, although personally I prefer the latter two with coffee.

Point of order: do you serve both cakes and biscuits, for variety, or is that over-indulging?

[supertinks.livejournal.com]

i think both cake and biscuits would be over-indulgence, but I'd consider it acceptable to be offered a choice either/or.