Extra cake

After The Engineer's birthday party last week, I looked in dismay at my kitchen table--there was a lot of cake left over. I'd made two, thinking one might not be enough. But one would have been just right, so after the guests had their fill, I was left with a whole lot of delicious chocolate cake.

I knew there was no way we'd eat all of it. I contemplated throwing most of it away. But first, I decided to try something else. I sat down on my computer and drafted an email to the local Freecycle group, of which I'm an active member.

In the subject line, I typed,

OFFER: Cake.

I began the email,

Okay, I'll start out by saying this is certainly the strangest thing I've ever tried to Freecycle, but it's worth a shot!

I explained the excess of cake filling up my house, and added,

My kids might be willing to eat cake for breakfast, lunch, & dinner for the next few days, but we've decided that might not be the wisest thing to allow. So it's either give it away or throw it away.

Anybody want some CAKE?

I went on to describe the cake, including links to the cake and frosting recipes. And then I clicked "Send," and waited.

Now, I knew that many people who saw the offer might think, "No way I'd take a half-eaten cake from some stranger." But I also knew the alluring power of cake. Chocolate cake.

And sure enough, a couple of hours later, the cake had found an enthusiastic new owner (minus a few pieces we reserved for the birthday boy.)

Freecycle is just the best. Or is chocolate cake the best? Either way, it ended up being a perfect combination.