Miscellaneous Monday - Have your cake AND eat it!

[Andy - Urban Gorilla Boy]

It's my party and I'll cry EAT if I want to...!  🎉 🎁 🎂

And so my birthday comes round once again. It's not really a major fancy affair for me. August 1st is a really crap date for celebrating, especially as a child/teen growing. Absolutely NO ONE is around for your parties due to summer holidays and that trend tends to continue into adulthood. 

But it doesn't stop me from eating CAKE! Lots & lots of cake!

The Dutch Way of stuffing your face on your birthday 🎊 🥳

I live in the Netherlands and there are two very significant and quite interesting traditions when it comes to birthdays:

1) When you arrive at a birthday party you have to  go round EVERYONE to congratulation them on the birthday. Now, for the parent or direct relative that kinda makes sense and is nice "Congratulations on your child's birthday..." but wishing some total rando' you've never met before and is the husband of the wife who is best friends with the distance cousin (who isn't even there) of the aunt of the birthday. girl or guy, is really quite bizarre. It's so f'ing odd....

2) You take a lot of cake to the office and you invite all employees (even the ones you hate) to come celebrate with a slice.

At TWNKLS AR / PTC (the last company I worked if with large teams in an office...) we would eat cake all the time!

My favourite cake, what is yours? 🍰 😍

A tough question for a Miscellaneous Monday. There are so many cakes I have had in my lifetime, both on my birthday as well as the birthday of others (and not forgetting the time I just bought cake on the weekend, because... cake!)

Eating Sacher torte in the world famous Sacher hotel in Vienna is potentially the winner, but:

I think there isn't just one cake for me in the end, but many memories... memories of celebrating the kids' birthdays. So much fun! When they both turned one my wife did these awesome Smash Cakes. The idea is just to have them tear into it and go bezerk. Those are the best!!

So, what is (are) YOUR favourite cake (moments)??

[Teodora V _Fun Inc_]

And again, happy happy birthday @Andy - Urban Gorilla Boy! 

Funny enough, I'm not a big cake lover. This is quite strange for a foodie, but I have gotten more excited about non-traditional celebrations in the past years. 

With my birthday being January 2nd, I rarely do any celebration (August 1st, you said...), but when I do, I try to make it memorable :)

My favorite birthday moment is the creative birthday moment! Not just hanging out at a restaurant for 5 hours while stuffing ourselves with food.

For my 30 birthday, I made little cupcake gifts for each guest 🧁

And while in quarantine, I organized a cooking workshop for my closest family members. They learned how to cook two versions of cornbread while drinking beer 👌




Happy Celebration, buddy! 

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Happy Birthday Andy!

I think yesterday may have confirmed that my favourite cakes are "all of them".  We went for afternoon tea and the desert tray was seven mini-deserts including a Sacher-torte, a maccaron (I know they are baked, not sure if they're cake), a chocolate-raspberry layer cake, and a coconutty cheesecake.  Couldn't pick a favourite.

You mention cake at work.  I used to work at a place that seemed to work on cake.  You'd go to the operations team and say "can you do this for me?".  "Of course, raise the Jira request, and tell us how much cake you will provide if you want it before the weekend"

[Monique vdB]

"Tell us how much cake you will provide" lol I love it. 

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

This much:

[John Funk]

Went into a sugar coma just looking at that. 

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Yep, we struggled to get home we were so full of sugar.

[Jimmy Seddon]

Happy Birthday Andy!!

My birthday is near the end of August.  While I have never had any issues with people being away (most are on their way back before school starts) there is almost always something else going on that I keep my celebrations low-key as well.

When it comes to cake, hands down Carrot Cake any day!

I really hope you enjoy your birthday with whatever it is you have planned!

[Johanna Pichotka_APTIS_]

Happy Birthday Andy! 

Hands down my favorite cake is simple delicious chocolate cake. 

If any of us were working in an office I would 100% bake a cake and bring it to work. Something I loved to do back in school but can't in times of remote working. 

[Darline Auguste]

Happy birthday Andy!!! Am I too old to do the smash cake idea at my next birthday?!

Love this question as I love cake! Sometimes I'm in the mood for plain vanilla or confetti cake but when I'm feeling fancy, I go for a salted caramel & chocolate cake from my favorite place in Amsterdam, Sea Salt & Chocolate. One of my best friends also makes the most delicious carrot cake every year for my birthday. 

Now I want cake!

[John Funk]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY! 🎉🎂🍺

I am not much of a cake guy, but more so cookies or pies. And my wife usually gets me peach cobbler for my birthday. As far as cakes, it just needs to be not dry. But because it has sugar in it, I will eat it. Favorite would be that 20 layer chocolate and peanut butter cake we had at the Team 22 Community Leader dinner!

And to Nic’s point, I would often charge cookies for expediting Jira tickets. 😊

[Monique vdB]

@John Funk omg that cake was so good!

[Catherine Johnson]

wowzer! Was that a sharing plate?  It looks incredible!

[John Funk]

Yes, it was a sharing plate - but there were two sharing plates like that for a table of about 8 people. And yes, it was incredible!!

[Andy Gladstone]

Sitting at that dinner I was happy to eat strictly kosher. If that 20 layer cake was accessible to me there would have been none left for the rest of the table.

[Nikki Zavadska _Appfire_]

Happy b-day Andy!!! I hope you're having a wonderful day.

Also, you did make me buy a cake...because when I see pictures of a cake I need one ASAP 👇 So delicious, anything with chocolate is the best

[Dave Liao]

If I'm forced to eat cake, I do enjoy mooncake once in awhile, and usually just eat a fourth of one.

I LOVE the lotus mooncakes - anyone liked the mixed nuts ones?

[Saralie S.]

AHH CAKE! So, I'm Haitian and we have a drink called Kremas, which is a cream liqueur. For my cousin's birthday, I baked her a kremas-infused cake from scratch and it was a hit !

[Monique vdB]

@Saralie S. I need to try this (both the drink and the cake!) 

[Summer Hogan]

This looks delicious @Saralie S. 

[Monique vdB]

Happy birthday, FMA! I was at a birthday party for my one-year-old nephew this weekend and indeed as we do in my Dutch family, I did walk around and congratulate people.  We don't congratulate random people though, just the actual relatives of the birthday boy. "Gefiliciteerd met je kleinzoon!" 

My favorite cake is a Hungarian cake called Dobos Torte. It's really hard to find though, I usually only get it when I'm visiting my mother-in-law in Cleveland since there is a really amazing Hungarian restaurant there. 

 

[Craig Nodwell]

That looks really good.

[Dave Mathijs]

That Dutch habit of not only congratulating the person celebrating its birthday but also parents, siblings, etc. never ceases to amaze me. As a Belgian having Dutch relatives, I still find it odd to receive birthday wishes for my children's birthdays.

[Brian Watts]

My favorite cake is lasagna. 

[Summer Hogan]

HAHAHA @Brian Watts 

[Craig Nodwell]

HAHAHAHAHAHA

[Summer Hogan]

@Andy - Urban Gorilla Boy Happy Birthday to you! 

I typically only go to my nieces and nephews birthday parties at this point and they are very laid back and informal so there is the normal hug greetings to family members and friends. 

My favorite cake right now is Nothing Bundt Cakes! Has anyone tried them? They are so good and come in many flavors! I also love the Pina Colada Cake at Tommy Bahama restaurants! Again, so yummy! 

[Andy Gladstone]

Happy belated birthday @Andy - Urban Gorilla Boy AKA all of your other Atlassian Community monikers. I wish I had known in advance so I could send you an AMAZEBALLS gift! instead I procrastinated this post and missed your birthday alltogether.

I have my favorite cake and my favorite birthday cake. Let's start with the latter.

This is a Carvel Crazy for Crunchies Cake. to quote the poetry of their website "Made for the biggest Crunchies fans with a layer of chocolate Crunchies, sandwiched between layers of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, loaded with fudge, and covered in extra Crunchies." In my past I have eaten an entire small (8"*8"*2") myself (but not in one sitting). This cake is the greatest recall mechanism for me to remember the birthdays of my youth and teen years. 

As for the former. The all time greatest cake is Blackout Cake from My Most Favorite Dessert Company. It was a restaurant in the NYC Theater District that had the most delectable post-show desserts and aperitifs. Like manna from heaven, I could never resist it's lure. Pure chocolate indulgence.  With layers of chocolate cake, chocolate pudding and chocolate crumbs. If my post never gets published it's because I just short-circuited my keyboard thinking about it!

A very happy birthday. Stay Awesome.

[Marjorie]

Happy birthday!  I like cake... any kind of cake.  But we have a store called Nothing but Bundt cakes... They make the most amazing single serving bundt cakes.  LOVE THEM

[Craig Nodwell]

LOL yes we just watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Bunt? Behhh Unnn Ttttt? Bunt!  It has a hole in it.

[Craig Nodwell]

Happy Belated Birthday Cha Cha Cha @Andy - Urban Gorilla Boy

You'll be pleased to know that on your birthday bakeries were the go to's of the day.  We were up in our nations capital Ottawa I'm in Canada visiting with family (granddaughter), they dumped us old geezers at the Byward Market (an outdoor sprawling market) and went off in search of young people entertainment.
Us old folks found our own entertainment in places like the

Le Boulanger Français - The French Baker
Le Moulin de Provence
Aux Delices Bakery & Pastry

When it comes to cake, I'd have to say my favorite is on a plate with a fork, although when it comes to cake I prefer a spoon it just scoops better.  :)

 

[Fabio Racobaldo _Herzum_]

Happy B-Day @Andy - Urban Gorilla Boy .

My favourite cake is the apple cake 

[Craig Nodwell]

Yum

[Patrícia Fortunato Montenegro]

Hey Buddy @Andy - Urban Gorilla Boy 

I'm pretty late, but my favorite Cake is Carrot with Dark Chocolate. ❤️

I love it! 😃❤️🤩🥕🍫🎂

[Brant Schroeder]

Just celebrated a lot of birthdays this weekend and I would have to say that the cheese cake was my favorite dessert.  

[Srinatha T]

Happy Birthday @Andy - Urban Gorilla Boy . 

Whenever I have cravings for choclate I go to a "Corner house" ice cream parlor in bangalore and order "Death by choclate". Its my favourite. Yum it will be. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYFi4Vk-6hM

[Craig Nodwell]

Now I want cake.

[Ed Gaile _Atlanta_ GA_]

As a fellow August birthday brother, I salute you my man!  I like to consider myself and equal opportunity cake enthusiast. I mean how can I choose between carrot cake with cream cheese icing, decadent 28 layer chocolate cake, or even a little Tres Leches - I love em all!!!!

[Craig Nodwell]

That's a lot of cake.
Who like Ice Cream with their cake?

[Jack Brickey]

Sorry I missed this post @Andy - Urban Gorilla Boy also happy belated! August is birthday month in my house. All 4 of my family member's birthdays are in August. Each week we have a birthday. By the time we get to the last birthday we are tired of birthdays. My poor son. 😉

I like cake but not big on icings especially overly sweet ones. As a kid, and still to some extent, my favorite has been devil's food cake.

 

[vikram]

Lovely cakes, buy seeing them I ordered one for me

I will eat on behalf of all Atlassian's

Vikram P

[vikram]

By seeing this post my SON and Me tried home cake, 

but it got fried more than required,

But myself and my SON eat like we do not cared that cake got deep fried. 

[vikram]

I have to try one more time for good cake