I want to talk about cake platters. For years, I have struggled when trying to find a good plate for presenting a birthday cake. Ordinary dinner plates are often not quite wide enough, and more irksome, they have raised edges, making slicing the cake a bit difficult!

Cute plate, but has raised edges!

Then one day, someone was giving away an old glass plate on my Buy Nothing group. I can’t remember what he called it… perhaps a trivet? He didn’t know that it was a cake platter, and I didn’t know it either, but I was curious, and I was the lucky recipient.

Look at the sweet sunflower design!

This unusual plate had three small “feet” on the bottom…

A mystery!

And it was not only flat, the plate itself slanted slightly downward!

Notice the slight slant!

After much discussion with friends and family about this plate, we all agreed that it was indeed a cake platter! The ever-so-slight downward slant makes it easy to slice and serve your cake without ruining the often decorated frosting edge. And the three feet on the bottom lift the platter just enough to make it easy to pick up; imagine trying to pick it up if it were flush to the table.

I just found this one at Goodwill yesterday. So cute!

I’m trying not to obsess too much over these ingenious creations, but seriously, who invented them? I guess I need to do some research. It seems to me that these plates were very well thought out, at a time when most birthday cakes were made by somebody’s mom, and presented at a family celebration. This makes these platters even more special to me. How many birthdays and celebrations have these platters already seen? Certainly much love was put into making beautiful cakes and serving them on beautiful platters. And I am happy to give these platters a new life, with many celebrations to come.

Even my cake dome works well with this platter!

I just recently made my first attempt at making a split lemon cake, which was my Dad’s favorite, and beloved by so many of us who have grown up in St. Louis. When I remembered my special cake platter, I knew it was the perfect way to display and present my creation! For the unveiling, I invited some friends over for tea, which is the perfect thing to do when you make a cake just because.

My latest tea party.

So, back to these lovely cake platters! I often see them at Goodwill; a good washing will have them gorgeous and sparkly and ready to show off your cakes. Go get one for yourself, and then let me know just how much you love it. And then bake a cake for someone you love.