Cake-gate

[8Wina4]

I work in an office environment, in a team of around 20. Before the Easter weekend, I was chatting in the staff room on a break about how I've recently really got into baking, and one of my colleagues jokingly said that she wouldn't mind if I bought some cake to work for her to try. I promised I'd bring some home made cakes in after Easter.

Fast forward to today. I take in four different homemade cakes. I also took in some little vegan cake bites from Tesco, as we have 2 vegans in the office and I wanted them to be able to eat something nice too (everything I baked had flour/eggs in)

One of the vegans approached me at lunch, and told me that she was really disappointed that I hadn't made the effort to home bake anything vegan, and that I had promised homemade cakes, so I should have provided that for everyone. She said she didn't like the vegan cakes I'd bought from Tesco, and that she was fed up with being left out of team lunches/treats.

I was a bit taken aback, so apologised. But the more I think about it, the more I think she was actually the unreasonable one...

Thoughts?

That Nigella chocolate cake looks amazing. My vegan son will be thrilled so thank you to whoever posted that link. Totally agree that this woman is 90% CF and being vegan is a side issue.

“No Bertrand it's just you said that non-vegans were the only rude people on this thread”

On this thread that is true. Says nothing about anywhere else!

You made four cakes and I do think at least one of those could have been vegan.

OP made these cakes in her own time, in her own kitchen and using ingredients that she had paid for. She took them into work to do a nice thing. She bought the two vegan colleagues vegan cakes from Tesco. She did not have to do any of this. Making cakes is not in her job description. Nobody asked her to. Nobody paid her to. She bakes what she likes. Nobody had any right to criticise what she made. It is her absolute choice. Still, she’ll know not to bother again won’t she? ☹️

That’s unbelievably rude!

I think the vegan has some nerve tbh. For all she knew, you could have invested time and money in trying a vegan recipe and had it go tits up, hence shop bought replacements. There's also a limit to the amount of time I'd spend on this on a holiday weekend, trying to please effectively 1/20 people with a cake that probably serves a lot more people but which the majority might choose to avoid eating. Especially if CF then turned round and complained that she didn't like the flavour! I bet she would have!

I wouldn't necessarily expect someone who has only recently got really into baking to be able or ready to make a vegan cake yet, either. Can CF do it? The fact you included them at all shows that you do consider them. She'd have done better thanking you & encouraging you to keep baking and possibly try vegan food.

I make cake for work. We have a visiting vegan who turns up infrequently and always unannounced and complains if it's a bake day because I don't make vegan things ... because no one who's in on a daily basis wants them instead of regular cake. If I knew he was coming, I'd give it a go.

You provided vegan alternatives, you did not leave her out fgs! Even if i were miffed you did not make a vegan cake, it is the height of rudeness to tell you, you are giving them free from your heart. She should bake a vegan cake for all to enjoy then!

How did work go today OP? Did anyone comment.

I just think that if you can do it without putting yourself massively out you try to accommodate everyone. Not after the rudeness, of course-all bets are off then- but before.

I would consider buying vegan cakes (presumably at reasonable expense) as the OP accommodating them without putting herself massively out. OTOH I would consider having to google recipes, buy ingredients and cook a separate cake that may or may not turn out edible to be a level of accommodation that I would be prepared to go to for a close friend or special occasion, not a colleague.

BertrandRussell - I tend not to use vegetable oil as I prefer EV olive oil or (flavourless) coconut oil for (savoury) cooking or salad dressings. As a result, my vegetable oil tends to lurk at the back of the cupboard and ends up tasting rancid (as I discovered ).

She was rude but why not vary your repertoire by googling vegan cake recipes? They're not hard and I think oil-based cakes turn out more reliably than butter-egg ones.

Yes that's right OP, very your repertoire, don't forget the cake with artificial sweetner for any diabetics, something glutenfree........ffs

It's true about no good deed going un punished .

Ridiculous CF behaviour

She was rude but why not vary your repertoire by googling vegan cake recipes?

I can think of lots of reasons why not - the OP doesn't want, isn't interested, can't be faffed, likes the cakes she makes already....

Vegan cakes can be OK but, in my opinion (and I taste a fair few as mum makes them for my sister) are never, ever as good as traditional cake. Flour, butter, eggs and sugar create an alchemy it is hard, nay impossible, to beat.

Why waste time and energy googling and making an inferior alternative to the real thing?

Fucking Amen to that.

She took your kind act in bad faith.

I can't even imagine how one would go about starting the conversation she did, let alone using such strongly critical language. She must be spectacularly entitled, and her personal relationships a minefield.

Anyway, should you want to bake something for nice vegan people, GF people, DF/Egg free people, you can't go wrong with a flapjack (GF oats, if gluten free is required), made with DF margarine. Packed with dried fruit, seeds, spices, dark DF chocolate, or dipped in melted dark DF chocolate. Really easy, no elaborate recipe adaptations, and totally delicious.

I made these to share around for events when breastfeeding a DF/EF baby, rather than expecting anyone to cater to me.

She's an ungrateful CF and you did a lovely thing.

My DH can't have gluten, dairy or eggs due to allergies. Any attempts I've made at baking a cake without these ingredients ends in disaster and the vegan ingredients are often very expensive too. He wouldn't dream of expecting anyone to cater for him like this. Bonkers!

Navigator

With a coeliac brother, I have come to the unfortunate conclusion on his behalf that gluten is fucking delicious!

It can be thankless being the office baker. I withdrew after years of maing a farewell cake for each leaving staff member because I was told 'you make one for everyone, or not at all' - when the latest recipient was coeliac, and I knew I was unable to learn how to make one quickly (after seeing my mum go through numerous attempts and still not always getting it right).

I have a couple of dietary limitations myself, and I prefer the onus to be on me to accommodate them.

What a cow!

(Which is ironic considering she's vegan...)

Also OP come and work with me, I'm happy to eat all and any shop bought or homemade cake!

People saying you don't need to buy special ingredients to make a vegan cake must have very different pantries to me! We've got a guest at DD's party who has an egg allergy so I've looked at the recipes linked to see if I could scale one down to make her a small cake & I'd need to buy loads of random ingredients I'd probably not use again until her party next year.

It'll be much easier to buy her something vegan & will probably taste much nicer!

Nquartz-have a look at the BBC Good Food vegan lemon cake. And don’t make a small one- it’s delicious!

In any case, 4 cakes for 20 odd people? Did you want them all to try all the cakes? Or did you only get 5/6 slices out of each cake? Were the cakes tiny or were the slices huge? Or are your colleagues cake monsters?

It's not difficult to make a coeliac cake- there are hundreds of tried and tested recipes on the internet- google one and off you go! Gluten free flour is readily available. There's nothing to learn! Or bake flapjack, fudge, truffles, a pavlova etc. instead.

Cheeky bitch! You were really kind & thoughtful. Block the bitch out. I would give her one with eggs in but I'm evil and she deserves it!

While I agree that there are great gluten free recipes around (I have a fab jaffa drizzle cake one adapted from a Good Food recipe, which can also be dairy free if I want/need), they do require special ingredients - which do involve a special trip to a supermarket or deli as opposed to the local corner shop