“Mmm! Good cake,” Dan says.
We are sitting at the table after dinner at our mutual friend Mango’s. Mango is a good cook, and the cake, like the meal, is really good.
“So what could be better? Wedding cake or birthday cake? asks Mango. “Philosophically speaking, of course.”
“I would ask my grandmother if she was still alive,” Dan said. “She was a cake expert.”
“If you give me another slice of cake, I’ll answer the question,” I said.
Mango deals another 3 slices of cake like aces on top of the deck.
“Wedding cake is better, because wedding cakes are almost always bigger than birthday cakes. More cake. More better,” I said. amazing cakes for birthdays. She kind of hollows out the middle before putting the icing on, then puts a handful of the birthday person’s favorite candy in the little cave. Then she ices the cake. When the cake is cut, all the candies come out as a surprise,” I say.
“Lots of sugar,” Mango says.
“Yes, indeed,” I said. “A lot of sugar. But a nice birthday surprise.
“My grandmother always made angel food cake. You hardly see that anymore,” Mango says.
“You’re right,” Dan said. “I had forgotten all about angel food cake. And four-quarters is another.
“Texas Leaf Cake. Where did that go?” I ask.
“Texas,” Mango says.
“Once in a while I come across a slice of carrot cake or zucchini,” Dan explains. “But not as often as before.”
“It seems to me that cupcakes are more common these days. There are even cupcake shops, and I’ve been to weddings where the guests all get cupcakes instead of a slice of a big fancy cake,” I say.
“More cake, guys?” Mango asks.
“Please,” Dan and I say in unison. Our conversation burned a lot of calories. Another slice of cake is needed for sustenance.
“When I was little, says Dan, my mother and my grandmother took my brother and me to a wedding. We couldn’t wait for the ceremony to end – all that yak-yak-yak, the candles, the organ music and the kisses. No sir – we were thinking about cake.
“Toddlers and marriages don’t mix,” Mango says.
“As soon as we went down to the basement of the church for the reception, we spotted this gorgeous tower of a cake with a plastic bride and groom on top,” Dan continues. “There were crystallized sugar roses and all sorts of other decorations.
“‘Wow!’ said my little brother. ‘Let’s get a piece!’
“I think we have to wait for the bride and groom to cut it before we can eat it.
“‘Well, we can just go get a finger full of icing, can’t we?’ said my little brother.
“Before we could follow up on this great suggestion, my grandmother whistled and called us to her side,” says Dan.
“’Boys,’ she said. ‘Whatever you do, DON’T GO ANYWHERE NEAR that wedding cake!’
“Why not, grandma? ” we asked.
“’He tilts and starts to slide,’ she whispered. “If this goes down, I don’t want our family to be accused of ruining a wedding.”
“And sure enough – a few minutes later, the top four tiers of that big cake slid across the floor with a WHUMP!” says Dan. “It would have been a BANG, but it was a piece of cake.”
“Wow,” Mango said. “It was a shame. You’ve never had a cake, I guess.
“Of course we did. The tablecloth on the cake table went all the way to the floor. It made a big fort and the floor wasn’t that dirty.
Jim Whitehouse lives in Albion.
