Fings ain’t what they used to be!
For those of you that probably won’t know, ‘Fings ain’t what they used to be’ is an old Cockney song ;O)
I went to a party last night. It was a great party but I had two disappointments which were both to do with food. It was a lovely spread that was all very fresh. The open rolls were lovely, even the cheese felt like it had been freshly grated. I had an open cheese roll and a slice of spinach pizza. I took a fairy cake (cup cake) that had a creamy looking swirl on top, to finish the food off nicely.
I peeled the paper case off my cake. It was so fresh it was hard to keep the cake in one piece. Yummy. I took a bite and almost heaved. What are they doing with cake toppings? I wanted to spit it out, but was too polite. It was a revolting greasy substance that tasted like nothing I could recognize! I quickly washed it down with some lemonade, shuddered, threw the remainder of the cake away and gulped some more lemonade.
Later they brought round the birthday cake. Though not as revolting, it was another disappointment. Where is the icing? Why have they started covering cakes with this substance that tastes like…erm…nothing, and feels like soft waxy weirdness? It’s NOT icing!
There is only one good thing about this waxy stuff. You can remove it in one piece and throw it in the nearest waste bin!
Stumble it!
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Lee
| 8 September 2008 at 0:14
I have had this before when they decorate the cake with a computer that sort of colors it. The frosting is terrible.
Lee
Lee’s last blog post..Friday Foto Finish Fiesta
JD at I Do Things
| 8 September 2008 at 0:58
Hmmm. I’ve definitely had cakes with terrible frosting, but I’m not sure I’ve had anything like a sheet of wax. It IS disappointing to bite into a delicious cake, only to find you’re eating a candle.
JD at I Do Things’s last blog post..I Research Kittens so you don’t have to
Margaret (Nanny Goats)
| 8 September 2008 at 1:00
Bleck! And then nobody has the gall to say anything so people just keep doing it.
Margaret (Nanny Goats)’s last blog post..There’s Never a Hero Around When you Need One
beetle
| 8 September 2008 at 1:18
Lee: Fortunately I don’t eat cake much any more, so it’s not too much of a problem.
JD: Maybe it was caused by too many candles on the cake. It was a sixtieth ;O)
Margaret: I think the safest thing is to buy a plain cake in future, and ice it myself if I want it fancy. maybe bake it too ;O)
Elaine - Luxor's Mom
| 8 September 2008 at 4:22
Weird! I’ve never seen (or tasted, thank goodness) such a thing!
Elaine – Luxor’s Mom’s last blog post..Mancat Monday
DrowseyMonkey
| 8 September 2008 at 4:30
People bake?
DrowseyMonkey’s last blog post..Blah, Blah … Here We Go
Jay
| 8 September 2008 at 8:17
Hahaha!! Well, you see, I hate to admit it, but I’d rather have the tasteless wax than Royal Icing – I’m allergic to egg, you see!
Actually, I find this new fondant icing far, far too sweet, even for me. It makes me feel ill. Give me good old fashioned buttercream, every time! It’ll clog yer arteries, and add an inch onto your hips, but you’ll die happy! LOL!
Kathy
| 8 September 2008 at 10:34
Ewww. I hate that fondant stuff! It looks pretty, but it’s not pretty going down! BLECH! At least the cheese and spinach pizza was good! Better luck next time.
beetle
| 8 September 2008 at 12:18
Drowsey: Hahahahaha! That made me laugh! Yes people do – I don’t, but people do!!
Jay: Allergic to eggs! That mean no meringue!! How can you live without meringue? Ordinary soft icing is the best, rather than royal icing.
Kathy: Yes, the other food was so yummy and fresh. It made up for the lack of yumminess in the cake area.
beetle
| 8 September 2008 at 12:30
Elaine: You haven’t missed anything worth eating, as far as I’m concerned.
Maureen
| 8 September 2008 at 13:39
Yeah, fondant should be used solely for the purposes of decorating cakes that will only be photographed, not eaten. (Have you SEEN those Disney cakes they do on the Food Network??? Amazing…) Sorry, back to the subject at hand.
Give me REAL sugar, REAL butter, REAL food everytime. I hate all the fake stuff that is supposedly GOOD for you.
Bah!
Maureen’s last blog post..We Eat Ham, And Jam And Spam A Lot
Sandie
| 8 September 2008 at 14:10
Nothing like a freshly baked spicy cake with dribbles of home made soft lemon icing on it! Yummeee!
beetle
| 8 September 2008 at 14:19
Maureen: What is REAL? I’ve almost forgotten ;O) Bah, is right!
Sandie: Now you’re talking! My mouth is watering
Lauren
| 8 September 2008 at 18:54
I worked for a famous (and bitchy) cake lady. The icing you mention is fondant and it is horrible but looks pretty. You’ll see it on a lot of wedding cakes. She marketed hers as NOT fandant…let’s just say.
You’re not spitting out the cake is so funny culturally. You wanted to be polite. Most of us in the US would take a napkin and chuck it out without hesitation.
Lauren’s last blog post..Student Voter Registration
Jeff
| 8 September 2008 at 21:49
I like cake. I would probably break off the frosting and just eat the cake.
grannygimble
| 8 September 2008 at 22:37
I hate cake icing, any sort. Always peel it off. My very favourite cake is lemon madeira. I made one a couple of days ago and am having great difficulty not eating much of it because of my diet! I don’t care for fruit cake much, so if I’m given birthday, wedding or Christmas cake I peel off the icing, gobble up the marzipan and leave the cake!
beetle
| 8 September 2008 at 23:18
Lauren: I would hate that on my wedding cake! We are so ‘British’ as you would say ha ha!
Jeff: Yes, that’s exactly what I did :O)
beetle
| 8 September 2008 at 23:21
Granngrimble: The icing and marzipan have always been my favourite part of a cake. Not any more. It just isn’t like it used to be – full of preservatives now and doesn’t taste the same.
chat blanc
| 9 September 2008 at 3:55
I only eat cake for the frosting so if they kill off the icing for fondant I’m always so terribly distraught! I feel your pain!
chat blanc’s last blog post..Yeah, that can’t be good. . .
Daisy the Curly Cat
| 9 September 2008 at 14:09
Yuck-o! My favorite is cream-cheese frosting.
Daisy the Curly Cat’s last blog post..Texas’ Last Dare
beetle
| 9 September 2008 at 19:43
Chat Blanc: I’m learning that quite a few people enjoy the icing more than the cake ;O)
Daisy: Now cream cheese frosting I could do daisy!
Laura
| 10 September 2008 at 18:34
I’ve seen them cover a cake with that stuff on cooking shows and that challenge thing for cake making on Food Network. I always wonder how something like that would taste. How could anything like real icing hang in a sheet which can be rolled out over and over and over again. No surprise it tastes like wax cause it must be made of something like that. Weird that people pay huge money for those kind of cakes too.
Janice
| 10 September 2008 at 21:25
Any chance you might have eaten the candles?
beetle
| 10 September 2008 at 21:50
Laura:
If they want to make cakes look great they can. With a little bit of extra work you can use real icing. It’s basically laziness and shelf life they care about.
beetle
| 10 September 2008 at 21:53
Janice:
I did wonder if that could be a possibility, but she had sparklers ;O)
Laura
| 12 September 2008 at 14:35
My sister had a beautiful wedding cake. We took pictures of it. But the icing tasted like wax too. I bet it was that same roll on icing stuff. But my wedding cake was beautiful, from a small bakery, and it tasted great. They did magnolias and maple leaves on it for me. None of my pictures turned out, of anything from me wedding though. It must be the baker of the cake, as you say, some are looking for short cuts and care more about how it looks than how it will go over if you have to actually eat the thing.
Laura’s last blog post..Paper Castle
beetle
| 12 September 2008 at 14:52
Laura:
You are right. It’s all done to look good, no matter what it tastes like. So much food stuffs is like that now – mostly fruit!
Swubird
| 16 September 2008 at 17:06
Babs:
Yuk. I hate it when the cake is bad.
I heard a saying once that goes something like this: Everybody has different tastes. That’s what the old lady said when she kissed the cow. I can’t explain it, so don’t ask.
Better luck at your next party.
happy trails.
Swubird’s last blog post..SPARE THE ROD – SPOIL THE CHILD!
beetle
| 16 September 2008 at 19:23
Swubird: Ha ha ha! Weird saying :O) I won’t be taking any cake unless I know it’s real icing!