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heawi_gw

Is this rude?

heawi
21 years ago

Is it rude to give a welcome or thank-you gift of "half" a home-made cake? We have neighbors, an eldery couple who I know probably wouldn't or shouldn't finish a whole cake and another case where I want to welcome a new neighbor who is a single man. Is it rude to give half a bundt cake? Should I explain? It's not that I am cheap or too poor but it just seems like a waste...

Comments (26)

  • duckie
    21 years ago

    I probably wouldn't do half of a bunt cake. However, you could take the cake batter and put it into two bread pans. That way you would be making two small cakes, rather than one large one that was cut in half.

  • jasper_austin
    21 years ago

    What if you just get a couple of smaller cake pans? not that single men often are known to have trouble putting away whole cakes. . . or you can count on people having a freezer and knowing how to use it.
    Nice of you to welcome your neighbor!

  • Marty_in_GA
    21 years ago

    Wish I could remember wher I saw it, but it was one pan with 2 small bundt cake impressions in it. I thought about getting it as we are only 2 now, but passed-I have too many pans as it is!

  • dances_in_garden
    21 years ago

    Take that bundt cake and slice it, arrange half of the slices on a pretty tray. Cover with a layer of clear basket wrap, then some pretty and festive basket wrap, gathering and tying with a nice bow. Repeat with another tray. Voila!


    {{gwi:336191}}

  • chase_gw
    21 years ago

    Great idea Dances!

  • Gina_W
    21 years ago

    I like Dances' idea. I wouldn't want to receive half a cake - looks strange. But slices on a tray, or muffins or cookies or chocolates would do the trick!

  • lindac
    21 years ago

    I would be delighted to receive 1/2 a cake, but would never give 1/2 a cake.
    I also wouldn't dream of slicing a cake and arranging it on a tray.....gets stale too soon.
    Don't give 1/2 a cake.....find a smaller pan and give all of a small cake.
    Linda C

  • eileen_launonen
    21 years ago

    I dont think the half cake thing is a good idea although your intent is good maybe hes like me who could polish off a whole cake by myself!!!LOL

  • marie921
    21 years ago

    CUPCAKES!!!

  • jane_NYS
    21 years ago

    I have company coming tomorrow night for coffee and cake. I had company today (sunday) and my daughter brought us a large Rasberry pie. At least a third of it is left and was delicious. I tried to figure out how I could serve it tomorrow night and I decided to slice it and place it on pieces. No one would know it was a leftover pie. I have vanilla ice cream to serve with it. I would slice it up and put it on a platter. No one will know

  • cardamom
    21 years ago

    I think Dances idea works well or certainly, the smaller size pans.

    Also, the whole larger cake may be just the excuse to invite them over for coffee, tea and some of that cake. We were about the last ones in our subdivision to move in. We received cakes and food dishes to make our first few days in the new house easier but I get to know them for a while. After other neighbors moved out, and new families moved in, I invited them over for coffe and cake. It gave us a little time to visit and learn about each other, more than just the cake.

    I think some friendships just got a head start that way.

  • bigred
    21 years ago

    Keep some extra canned frostings on hand,frost the side that's been cut, take some big marshmellows,cut into slices,dip into colored sugar arrange in "petals" around a small colored marshmellows, add a couple of large"rounds" dipped in green sugar as leaves. You can add as many "sparkle flowers" as it pleases you,even a few on top then "cascading" over to cover the side.
    Peggy

  • Jillis
    21 years ago

    Why not just give the whole cake? It really isn't as if it was a big expense. That way it doesn't look cheap. I wouldn't be offended, but some people are funny. I have had people complain to me about what this person or that person gave them...one neighbor was still talking YEARS later about how someone gave them lunch and the tuna fish was spread too thin...
    The people you want to give to can always share it with guests, or freeze part of it. (You can even tell them, if this is too much for you, it freezes nicely, etc...)
    A half a cake, IMO, just SEEMS kind of like you are maybe giving leftovers...even though you are not...and it is true that slices go stale much faster, although for a family where it might go faster that is an original and nice idea! :-)
    Blessings, Jillis!

  • DivaOverhaul2003
    21 years ago

    I would give a whole cake too. If the people just moved in, chances are they are going to have friends and family coming over who can also enjoy the cake and heck, once I baked a cake because I was bored and I was having my carpet cleaned that day so I offered the guy a piece of cake. He happily accepted, ate it and I sent him packing with another big piece because I couldn't eat all of the cake myself, LOL! Boy did he love that!!! So your neighbors can do the same thing if they don't want the cake to go to waste. They'll probably have people coming to install Cable TV or their phone line that they can offer cake to:o)

  • nancylouise5me
    21 years ago

    I'd give them the whole cake. It's not for me to deside whether they should or shouldn't eat a whole cake. They may invite friends over to have some or just pig out on it themselves. It may look like you are being cheap to them, some people are quirky about such things. But it's nice that you are thinking about them anyways. You sound like a good neighbor. NancyLouise

  • annie1992
    21 years ago

    I, too, would give them the whole cake. Any single guy I ever knew could easily eat a whole cake. As for the elderly couple, most elderly people I know have coffee with friends on a regular basis. They would probably love a treat to share with their friends, most of who might not bake something like that because it's just "the two of them" or "just me".

  • colleenoz
    21 years ago

    When I give someone a cake I think they may not finish for some reason, I pick a recipe that freezes well and tell the recipient, "And of course, you can freeze this if you want to."

  • Corrie
    21 years ago

    Definitly the whole cake. No matter how you present it, half a cake looks like either leftovers or you being stingy. Corrie

  • MsMagnolia
    21 years ago

    The whole cake, please. As posted above, it's not that expensive, and you don't want to appear 'chinzy' to a new neighbor.

    I have several different sizes of cake pans, also several different shapes. They're out there, and come in real handy at times....like in this instance.

    The best pans I have are 6" rounds. A layer cake that size is just perfect to give away!

  • Wantoretire
    21 years ago

    Several years ago we had an elderly lady move in to the duplex next to us. She works full time. God must have been on my shoulder because I went on a cooking binge, way too much for hubby and me, so took leftovers to her and was upfront about it. I told her that I remembered being single and hating to cook after working all day. My husband is a Costco junkie, so there is always too much. She is so very grateful, and to this day, I take extra pancakes to her every Sunday AM and she nukes them and has them for supper with gravy!. We share food and a wonderful friendship. I say, don't stand on ceremony. You may not know what you are missing.

  • gellchom
    18 years ago

    If I were starting from scratch, I'd make a cake and give them the whole thing, or else make cookies or something and give them a plateful. But if I had a lot of still-fresh leftover cake that wasn't going to get eaten, I, too, would think it would seem silly to throw it away and bake another one for a little welcome gift.

    I'd cut pieces and arrange them on a paper plate (so they don't have to worry about cleaning and returning it while unpacking) and cover it with plastic wrap so the cut edges don't get dry too fast. It's true it won't keep as well as an uncut cake, but almost as well -- I mean, even an uncut cake doesn't keep forever. Make it look pretty on the platte, and then it doesn't look like you're just getting rid of leftovers, just that you are giving them less than a full recipe -- and why not? After all, if you were bringing cookies instead, you wouldn't feel that it would look funny if you brought less than the whole batch.

    All I can say is, if I were your new neighbor, I'd be thrilled to have a yummy homemade snack, even if it were CLEARLY leftover!

  • jenn
    18 years ago

    An old childhood friend of mine used to give my family half a bundt cake at holiday time. None of us thought anything of it -- we just ate and enjoyed it, and appreciated the gift! But seeing that the comments above are mixed on that, I'd give a whole cake just to be safe. Or, slices arranged on a plate.

  • the_crispycritter
    18 years ago

    oh, nonsense... think of it... would you poo poo if your best friend came over with 5 slices of the most delicious chocoalte cake you ever had?

    I think it is so thoughtful to give someone who you know the other half will go stale, that presenting a half a cake,
    already sliced, for an elderly couple, is a gift from heaven! i'm not elderly, and pre-sliced sounds good to me!

    yes, we in America are blessed to be able to give a whole cake, but sometimes it is OVERKILL.. folks, it;s the thought that counts... and the love behind the thought...

  • lowspark
    18 years ago

    This is rather an old thread that has been revived, so I'm sure it's a moot point for the OP. But it's an interesting discussion all the same.

    Personally, I vote for giving the whole cake and mentioning the freeze factor. I mean, how much does one half cake cost?

    But this brings to mind one of the local grocery stores, they sell half cakes. I mean just like what the OP described. A half a bundt cake, in a half-round container. So apparently there IS some demand for half-cakes, and it probably isn't that big of a deal to give a half like that.

    I'd still vote for the full cake, because it makes the giver look generous, and it's nice to freeze something like that in smaller portions and then defrost for a treat every once in a while.

  • Mary Faraci
    2 years ago

    Just give the entire cake GEEZE.


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