The famed and ill-fated Marie Antoinette is well known for her words to the common people of France, "Let them eat cake.” Of course what she was talking about was bread, but it sounds good anyway. Who doesn"t like to eat cake? And who wouldn't want to get it for free?
Cake brings up all sorts of good memories for a lot of different people. At almost every special life event you can find some sort of cake, whether those cakes are simple homemade designs or fanciful creations from a favorite bakery.
For most of us, childhood birthday party memories are laced with the presentation of the cake with just the right number of colorful candles. Later on, engagement parties and wedding celebrations brought even more fabulous productions that guests could exclaim over and hope they tasted as good as they looked.
And that is sometimes the Catch 22 of cake, the ultimate question of whether or not it tastes as good as it looks. How many of us have waited patiently until the cake is cut only to find the most beautiful looking cake tasted like sawdust while the most pedestrian of them all kept you coming back for more and eyeing the crumbs wishfully?
Cake preference is as individual as those who eat it and sometimes a reflection of those personalities. Like color preference, I think that food preference says volumes about your personality. Of course, there are those who have no preference which says something too.
I have found that those who prefer the rich, moist taste of Devils Food Cake are complex people who like the multilayered aspect of life. They are not afraid to try new things and savor the different levels of every experience whether it be going to a new restaurant or just meeting with friends at home.
Angels Food Cake is reserved for those that are purists at heart. They like the light airiness texture of the cake on their tongues and prefer that type of lightness and simplicity in life as well. These are the people who like their vegetables steamed with no sauce, thank you very much, and are just as likely to not like meat either.
Carrot Cake is a somewhat acquired taste for most of us, but for those who really enjoy it, it is love at first bite. I like to think of these people as the spiciest of cake lovers. They have unique taste and enjoy a wide variety of new experiences that blend together in their minds to create a complex set of memories whose texture is rich and varied.
I could go on, but I think you know what I'm talking about. Look at the people you know in relation to the cake they like and I'll bet that you can see some similarities between those who like certain types of cake and how they are as people. When you do, Marie Antoinette's famed phrase may take on a whole new meaning for you.
