It Turns Out We’ve Been Cutting Cake The Wrong Way All This Time
July 17, 2019
source: YouTube/Numberphile
Cake: a delicious dessert that essentially everyone in the universe enjoys eating. From birthdays, to weddings, to every type of celebration in between, you probably find yourself eating a slice of cake multiple times a year (or multiple times a month, if you’re lucky!). However, you’ll probably be surprised to learn that we’ve all been cutting cake the wrong way for practically our entire lives.
Alex Bellos of Numberphile explains that when we cut cake the traditional way (into evenly sized triangles), it makes the cake dry out. When you remove the first triangle, the other pieces are exposed to the air, making them become dried out and stale pretty quickly. This only accelerates once you place the remainder of the cake in the fridge.
So what we should be doing is cutting a cake according to Alex’s genius method. Here’s what you need to do.
Step 1: Cut the cake in half at the widest part of the circle.
Step 2: Make another cut parallel to the one you just made.
Step 3: Carefully lift out the slice you’ve just made. Cut it into portions, and enjoy!
Step 4: “Close” the cake by pushing the two sides together. You can secure it further by placing an elastic band around the circumference of the cake.
Step 5: The next time you want to dig into the cake, repeat these steps but use perpendicular cuts to the first ones.
And that’s it! You can repeat this process until all of the cake is gone. This method is genius because it allows the cake to retain its moisture — no more stale, dried out cake!
Want to see this method in action? Watch the video below.