Before this gets going I just want to cover my bases and make sure I don’t pull a Mike Barnicle. To that end I vaguely recall George Carlin debating the merits of cake and pie. My Internet searches for said discussion have failed to dig up exactly what Carlin said. Regardless, I’ll press ahead with my own take on the situation. It starts with the eternal question:
If given the option of choosing between cake and pie for dessert, which do you take?
Ironically Carlin died hours later. I encourage you to follow that link to a lot of Carlin videos, including his infamous 7 words routine as well as his inexplicable, G rated performance on a kids television show. Meanwhile, I still wanted to push ahead with the post even if it pales in comparison to something he would do. So here goes. Once again the premise:
If given the option of choosing between cake and pie for dessert, which do you take?
Now maybe you prefer pie over cake. Or vice versa. Fair enough. This post is not for you. But if you’re like me you have a great deal of respect for both cake and pie. And if asked to choose between the two your mind immediately wonders about the quality of the cake. And therein lies the whole dilemma. Given the way the question was asked it is impossible to tell how good the cake is. If the cake in question is an ice cream cake, a ridiculous cheesecake or even a simple Pillsbury style cake (I highly recommend the Funfetti) you can happily turn down the pie.
Unfortunately there are some really low quality cakes out there. I’ve come across horrendous store bought cakes (think the dreadful whipped frosting), tasteless sponge cakes, and atrocious carrot cakes.
So while the ceiling for cake may be higher than pie, a bad cake has the potential to ruin the post meal experience. Contrast that with pie. Worst case you end up with a Hostess Pie and that’s a no lose scenario. Best case you get a good old fashioned, just like grandma used to make apple pie that can rival any cake. I’d argue that any pie on the scale between Hostess and grandma’s would be better than the worst cake.Long story short everybody loves a good ice cream cake. Yet pie is a safer bet.
