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AIBU?

To not volunteer for the PTA cake stall again this term, seeing as how they'll no longer accept shop-bought products?

125 replies

LittleBella · 12/09/2008 22:20

When I took a whole load of shop-bought little fairy cakes, doughnuts and muffins in from Morrisons today, the school secretary said: "oh we can't accept those, we can only accept home-baked stuff now. It's the law".

Seeing as how this sort of cake has been the norm on the cake stall for the last 5 years (it's been about half and half home baked and shop bought), either the govt must have sneaked in a new law over the summer while the rest of parliament was in recess, or the school are hardened law-breakers. The stall is on Fridays, so baking would have to happen on Thursdays and that is football and dancing day, so no chance.

Am I supposed to distress the farking things a la I don't know how she does it?

OP posts:

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PeaMcLean · 12/09/2008 23:01

"the selling on law"?

Hmm. Do you think they've got some special licence approved in triplicate for the sales on the bric a brac stall?

I did not know there were laws against second hand cake.

LittleBella · 12/09/2008 23:02

LOL. Neither did I, till this afternoon!

OP posts:

1dilemma · 12/09/2008 23:05

lol at the second hand cake laws

vjg13 · 12/09/2008 23:10

I bought some cakes from Greggs last year for the Brownies hostess badge night that looked so crap everyone thought me and my daughter HAD made them

LittleBella · 12/09/2008 23:15

LOL. Greggs it is then!

OP posts:

BEAUTlFUL · 12/09/2008 23:17

"I haven't got time to spend all afternoon baking"... I spend hours in my kitchen cos I love cooking, and honestly, most basic cakes are the quickest things to make.

The only vaguely hassly bit is measuring out the ingredients or maybe lining the tin with greaseproof paper. Then really, half the time you just shove everything into an electric mixer all together and let it beat it for 3 minutes, pour into cake tin, place in oven, retrieve when baked, cool, shove jam inside, done. 5 mins' preparation time, 25 mins' cooking time.

I think baking is the most dispiriting form of cooking, though, as it can seem to go wrong for no sodding reason whatsoever. And there's so much invested into that little cake tin -- when you can pull out a perfectly risen sponge from the oven, you feel like a large bosomed, flour-aproned earth mother; when it collapses, a tiny part of you feels like you have failed in a Womanly Skill. So, easier not to bother.

Biscuits are easy as anything to make and always look nice on the cake stalls.

LittleBella · 12/09/2008 23:19

No but I just can't be bothered.

I know it's quick, I know it's easy, but it's just not my thang.

I bake my own bread, because I like bread and I can no longer bear to buy shite from the supermarket, but cakes - nah. I just don't like them enough to bother!

OP posts:

PeaMcLean · 12/09/2008 23:21

"when you can pull out a perfectly risen sponge from the oven, you feel like a large bosomed, flour-aproned earth mother; when it collapses, a tiny part of you feels like you have failed in a Womanly Skill."

This is what worries me about baking. It's no longer just about cakes.

Habbibu · 12/09/2008 23:25

"you feel like a large bosomed, flour-aproned earth mother" I'm a great baker, , but unfortunately it's never had an instant impact on my bra size...

Habbibu · 12/09/2008 23:25

But if I baked like Slur, on the other hand...

loobeylou · 13/09/2008 10:37

our school accepts home made and bought cakes, and i nearly always donate made cakes, but the head was once heard buying a box of tesco mini choc rolls saying, better not have any of the homemade stuff, don't want salmonella. And the cheeky moo APPEALS for homemade in the newsletters!!

wannaBe · 13/09/2008 10:43

was she serious? the "it's the law" part of the comment makes it sound as if she was half joking tbh. ya know, kind of along the lines of "oh we can't have these cakes, you must go home and bake for hours you know", is the sort of comment I would make tongue in cheak but would still accept the bought ones. or I have made comments like "oh that's a beautiful cake, you made it yourself of course? and just bought the box for presentation purposes?" but it's said with a smile.

Fwiw the home made stuff sells far better than the shop bought ones, and cake stalls are def not what they used to be in terms of home made cakes, but we would never refuse shop bought.

That being said we always check the dates, and at this year's fate someone brought in a cake that had gone out of date a month before

OneLieIn · 13/09/2008 10:51

what a load of old bollocks they are talking. Seriously, bash them up a bit and stick them in foil and take it in as homemade. Everyone will love your home baking as you are related to Mr Kipling

loobeylou · 13/09/2008 10:51

we have had problems with the donations brought in for harvest festival, which are then parcelled up and given to elderly residents.....last yr we had a letter thanking the PTA for the harvest parcel but did we realise the tin of tomatoes was 3 years out of date. 3 years!!! how can someone do that!!

StealthPolarBear · 13/09/2008 10:52

PMSL at either the govt must have sneaked in a new law over the summer while the rest of parliament was in recess, or the school are hardened law-breakers.
Well it was summer - usually a slow time. Maybe that's when the cake baking laws are debated?

squeaver · 13/09/2008 10:59

"The selling on law" WTF?

CostaRicanCod · 13/09/2008 10:59

agree shopbought stuf is pointless
go to a shop and buy it
but the law
lol

gabygirl · 13/09/2008 11:49

Eggs, flour, margerine, sugar. In a bowl. All together. Mix em up. Bake them in a tin.

Takes - literally - 10 minutes, plus 2 minutes to tip them out afterwards into a cake tin.

Everyone has time for that, no matter how busy they are. Takes less time than going down the shops.

You don't have to be flipping Nigella to produce a dozen fairy cakes that kids'll be happy to eat.

Ceolas · 13/09/2008 11:54

Well, exactly, gabygirl. But I didn't want to come across as self-congratulatory.

falcon · 13/09/2008 11:56

It takes me far longer than 10 minutes to gather all my ingredients, weigh and measure them, cream butter and sugar(my most hated job) mix it, stick them in a tin or muffin cases,give it time to bake, then do the clean up.

I love baking and do it fairly often,I wouldn't often bother buying a shop bought cake now, but I know I could pop to my local Sainsburys and bring back a cake in less time than that.

Marina · 13/09/2008 12:00

I don't think it's that quick either tbh gabygirl
We are both good cooks and work full-time outside the home. We support the dcs' school in all sorts of ways but simply do not have the time to bake cakes

Ceolas · 13/09/2008 12:13

But if people genuinely don't have the time to bake cakes yet support the school in other ways, what's the problem? Must everyone contribute to the cake stall?

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Mercy · 13/09/2008 12:21

pmsl at the law

I don't even have the right equipment for making cakes - proper scales, mixing bowl, cake tins etc.

I've tried making muffins and even they didn't turn out properly.

AbbaFan · 13/09/2008 12:33

I am that you would want to donate shop bought cakes.

I think they are right, the whole point is that they want to sell nice home-made stuff.

It takes about 15 minutes to knock up a LDC, so not that difficult.

WideWebWitch · 13/09/2008 12:34

Bloody stupid

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