WHO on earth thought three-pronged forks were a good idea? I’ve had a terrible time trying to eat my cake.

[Wendyer]

Well it’s not actually my cake but we won’t go into that …

This isn’t one of those purpose made pastry type dainty fork things. I think it’s from a 1970’s set of cutlery that I’ve inherited from my mother. In fact, give me a minute and I’ll treat you all to a picture of it!

I’ve had a terrible time trying to eat cake - crumbs everywhere, much dropping of forkfuls, great difficulty spearing/pronging, significant reduction in plate to mouth speed. I should’ve used a shovel, um I mean spoon …

My DM bought similar. They were in a set, forks, knives, spoons so were intended for normal use. Not for cake. Not for fish.
I refuse to use them, it has become the joke of the family when we get together for dinner. It is the devil's work.

You mean cake isn't meant to be shovelled in with a massive spoon?

I've been doing it wrong.

Buy some cake forks and a matching cake slice, treat yourself for Christmas. Put your cake on a doily. I love a cake ceremony.
Or use a teaspoon!

@hotmeatymilk

Have you tried picking the cake up with your hands, as prehistoric people would have had to do

This is the method I used when applying cake to my face earlier today.

@immersivereader

Designed to make you eat less

The bastards.

My parents have that cutlery set. That looks like what they used as a starter fork. The dessert forks have short handles. The fish forks are the only ones with four tines.

I think your actual problem is that the cake didn't have enough buttercream / ganache.

I love the way you are tantalising us by just showing snippets of the fork rather than the whole thing in one go.

Hah! There was a reason for that @SkiingIsHeaven! Just where the forky bit ended and the handle began there was a previous unnoticed (by me) minuscule stain that looked glaring huge under the camera light. Naturally, rather than going to the effort of cleaning the fork, I instead photographed it from strategic angles. You have blown my cover!

That's not s cake fork. Don't attempt to eat cake with it.

I think its a fruit fork or a strawberry fork.

A cake or pastry fork has one tyne that is flat and wide to help the cake to adhere and balance.

The only option is to buy more cake and start again with the correct equipment.

Thanks @SinoohXaenaHide that’s a very instructive diagram. However, it doesn’t specifically mention cake, and I’m not completely comfortable with the idea that cake is the same thing as dessert. And what if you had a Victoria sponge with fresh strawberries?

All very worrying.

Wow I didn't know there was an icecream fork, it seems unnecessary but I now want a bunch of very specific forks.

this is the set given to us by our european relative.

looks similar size.

cake forks are for 'torte', soft and moist layered cakes.
or for crumbly cakes served with whipped cream.

Oh god, this is getting stressful. I think the advice of previous posters who have recommended the use of one’s hands must be taken.

@Wendyer

Oh god, this is getting stressful. I think the advice of previous posters who have recommended the use of one’s hands must be taken.

Lady Bracknell would not approve.

Three prongs are better than two. Why do carving forks only have 2? It drives me mad - carve a lovely piece of roast meat, try to transfer it to a plate and it just flips round the two prongs and collapses. And if you've only got little pieces of meat - how do you pick those up with only two prongs and a massive gap between them?? Stabbing doesn't work either!

A carving fork is only used to hold the joint or carcass steady as you carve. The slice of meat is then transferred to a plate either on the flat of the carving knife or separately with a serving slice. The carving fork is never expected to pick up or move any slices and it only has 2 prongs to minimise the holes being poked into the meat.

We have two cutlery sets, one with threeks and one with forks. Nobody likes the threeks

Threeks? Don’t tell me there are yet more variants of forks to be thrown into the mix!

If I come back at about 3 O'clock will we have moved on to knives and fish eaters?

I think that is a 1970s prawn cocktail fork.

@politics4me I’ve started a thread about fish knives! You don’t have to wait until 3pm!

Here he is in his entirety (so that @StrychnineInTheSandwiches can see!), next to a cheapy modern relative.

Never have I spoken/photographed forks so much!

Forgot him in all the excitement!

I love this thread. This is the amount of attention forks should get in life.
I love a dessert fork but looking at sinooh's delightful diagram I think it may be a pastry fork I've been using all these years. The shame!!

And i have naice cutlery that I use for every whereas the heathens I live with prefer the old crappy cutlery. Dont they understand the tines are too big and square?!

My mum was the upmost in Hyacinth Bucket and used a fish fork and knife for a chippy. 😅😅 she was appalled that I used my hands when I ate a bag of chips by the seaside.

I always eat cake with a regular fork, but a couple of years ago I went to a cafe in Whitby and was given what I assume was a 'cake' fork. Took me about 4 hours to eat my cake.... total pain the arse!