You name the emotion and chances are, I'll be exhibiting it in the follow post - so forgive me in advance if I seem out of line.

About 2 weeks ago dh came home and told me that he signed me up to bring a dessert for a picnic his squadron was having. I was happy that he let me know in advance b/c usually he doesn't do that.

I decided I would make a devils food cake, and also figured I would branch out and I made a scrumptious kahlua chocolate mousse filling - so this cake was a triple layer cake w/ the mousse filling in between each of the middle layers. I also used a vanilla buttercream frosting in a basket weave.

Okay so the first problem is that I used an all butter buttercream frosting -not remembering that we live in a tropical climate- so the frosting wasn't as pretty as it could have been That's on me though, I just wasn't thinking about weather being a factor.

What frustrates me though is that no one tried any of it...not a slice, not a bite, not even a crumb. I spent a great deal of time making this cake from scratch - and when I say scratch, I don't mean "let me scratch the box the cake mix came out of" or "let me scratch my butt as I pay for a dessert from a grocery store". The cake was in plain view, and it's not as though it was hidden or out of view.

I'm irritated that I spent so much time on this cake, and for no reason. It's as though people have become so accustomed to the chemical flavours of mass produced stuff...that they think homemade items are somehow inferior.

So I'm kind of viewing it as money wasted, as well as time wasted, and not to mention my baking supplies wasted. I say wasted, b/c after 3+ hours the cake was in no condition to be given away - even though I tried to keep it cool. So it ended up getting tossed out...oh and the worst part..this was a cake that could have EASILY been worth $30+

I don't think I'll ever bring anything to another squadron function...people don't seem to appreciate the quality and I don't want to waste my time & energy on people who prefer store bought junk.

=(

Awww, I'm sorry to hear what happened. Next time you be the first one to cut you a slice. I'm sure the others will follow and love it!

My first thought was "Was it decorated pretty?" You said basketweave so I'm figuring you had pretty flowers on top, right?

Whenever I take one of my cakes to an event for any special function, I normally "decorate them" & when I get there, no one wants to cut the cake because "it's too pretty". So, I go get a knife & cut right into it & then my DH is the first in line to get a big old piece!

So my second thought was "Where was DH? Why wasn't he there helping himself to your delicious cake?" (Not trying to put him down).

But I know how you felt as I have had the same thing happen to me until I just learned to take the initative & cut the cake myself. And I always take a piece of my own cake when I take one to an event. After all, it's probably the best tasting one there! IMHO

I agree with everyone else. I've learned I have to be the first one to hack into the cake when I take it somewhere because everyone else is afraid to. Maybe they don't want to ruin the pretty look or maybe they think I'll cry when it's cut because of all the work I put into it. Who knows? But I've noticed no one wants to cut the first piece of anything because they're self conscious that people will think they're pigs or something. I would bet that while you were waiting for someone to cut into that delicious cake, a dozen other people were drooling and waiting for someone else to make the first cut. So next time you bring a cake or dessert start cutting it and putting it on plates for people to pick up inconspicuosly.

Yeah, I'm with the "it's too pretty to cut" thing, and not the "everyone is used to mixes so they think scratch is inferior" thing.

grab a knife and cut that sucker!! no one EVER wants to be first!

Rather than sitting there stewing about it, you should've just started cutting it and putting a few pieces on plates.

I'm sure that the message would've gotten across and who knows how much business that cake would've brought in.

i don't allow my husband to volunteer me anymore for squadron functions anymore...mainly for that reason.

whenever i make a cake, i HAVE to cut it because no one wants to. Sometimes they think it's just there to look pretty or you're reserving it for other people. So yeah, if there is a next time (IF!) then i suggest YOU cut and let them taste good cake

I'm with everybody else. I have never taken a cake somewhere but what I didn't have to cut it as well. I think everybody expects that.

I hate it when people eat a cake I made in front of me... only because I feel like they all feel obligated to tell me it was good. I would rather just hide in a corner and wait until the cake is all gone.

People are like kids this way, they are waiting for permission to dig in, they don't realize it's insulting not to eat it, they think it would insult you if they presumed they could eat your gourmet creation.

I hate cutting my own cakes if people know that I made it but someone has to get the ball rolling.

My favorite party cake was when no one there knew that I made the cake and no one came up to me to talk about the cake... they did talk about it to eachother so I felt it was much more genuine to hear they liked it when they were telling thier friends not me.

I'm with everyone else on this too.

As soon as I started reading your post that's the first thing that popped into my head..."too pretty to eat."

I see all the beauties that you folks post on here and I think the exact same thing!!!

If you do decide to make another cake for them do as everyone suggested cut the cake yourself or ask your DH to do it!

Hope your feeling better about the whole thing!

Just reading about the cake you made made me drool. LOL i think people were just shy about cutting it up.

Esp. with military guys....they will not cut the cake. I always have to cut it at our hail & farewell's, promotion ceremonies, etc. I found the best way to do it, is about halfway through the "main course" or when you see ppl starting to finish up their dinner.....go cut the cake and put a few slices on plates, then it gets the message across. I've had the same problem you had before and ended up taking a whole cake home. Now that I cut a few slices, I never have ANY cake to take home (which is sad b/c I never eat it at the parties, haha).

I've been active duty Air Force for over 11 years now, so I've been to my share of functions and let me tell ya everyone hit the nail on the head. The 'I don't want to be first syndrome', I don't think it has anything to do with store bought vs. homemade. Heck I once made a rainbow jello bowl, it looked really cool, everyone kept talking about it, but not eating it, then when I heard one mom saying "no we can't mess it up" I said for pete's sake and dug the spoon right in, I liked that people thought it looked cool, but I did make it to be eaten! After that it was and I've given out the recipe tons of times It seems to happen more with desserts, but there have been plenty of times I've had to get a dish started before others would get some for themselves. There's also a "last piece" syndrome going around So don't feel bad, I'm sure your cake was delicious, I think it's too bad it was wasted. Andrea

Isn't it funny how until you get them well trained with the threat of bodily harm, your family has no problem diving headfirst into one of your cakes or desserts? It's everyone outside your house that pretends to be demure when they really wanna just tear into it!