You’ve in all probability seen them: twee little movies of individuals slicing truffles at picnics by plunging wineglasses straight into them. The tactic ensures a neat particular person cup of cake (nice for COVID-conscious picnics, and little question partly why the pattern picked up in 2020); plus, it’s cute and appears good on digicam. However let’s say you’re envisioning a summer time’s price of picnics and truffles to go along with them: Is slicing your cake with a wineglass really a good suggestion?
Although she hasn’t tried it personally, cake maker Clio Goodman of New York’s ByClio bakery loves the concept (and the movies). “For individuals who don’t like sharing or are germophobic or simply need their very own slice, it’s actually cute and straightforward,” she says. “You may drink your wine and when it’s accomplished, simply flip your glass the other way up and lower the cake.”
Nicola Collie, who runs the aptly named California microbakery Picnic Baked Items, is much less of a fan. The tactic not solely compresses the cake and frosting, she explains, nevertheless it additionally adjustments the order during which you eat it; plus, figuring out the work that goes into cake making, she appreciates seeing a exact slice with outlined layers of cake and frosting. Texas-based baker Pamela Thibodeaux factors out a sensible consideration: Whereas the tactic is likely to be enjoyable to look at, “it doesn’t yield many slices effectively,” she says. That being stated, “a cake particular for this deliberate impact, like a snack cake or two-layered cake, could be splendid when you’re going for a no-rules vibe at your picnic.”
In the event you both overlook a knife or just want to not carry one to your picnic, you may use a spoon, the facet of a fork, or a plate to chop the cake, Thibodeaux suggests. In the event you’re nonetheless involved with aesthetics, nevertheless, Collie prefers the cake-cutting hack of utilizing dental floss (which she considers a key merchandise to maintain within the automobile anyway). “That’s good,” Collie says. To chop a cake with dental floss, you’ll need to take a protracted piece of unscented floss, maintain it taut with each fingers, after which wiggle it by means of the cake till you hit the underside. Functioning like a cheese wire, the floss cuts clear and even slices, whether or not in wedge kind or sq.. And bear in mind: Chopping a spherical cake right into a grid maximizes the variety of items you may get out of it.
Whichever methodology you select, all of them share the identical upside: No cake finally ends up smashed in opposition to the surface of your cup, simply in case you forgot the napkins, too.
Janna Morton is a Baltimore-based illustrator and way of life blogger whose colourful work focuses on themes of nature, inclusivity, missed magnificence, grief, and pleasure.