The ultimate carrot cake indulgence

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/03/2016 (3775 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We saw it on Dragon’s Den — the show in which entrepreneurs pitch their products hoping to snag an investor to take their products to the next level.

They called themselves Daisy Cakes and, using an entire pound of carrots in each cake, and an old family recipe they presented a carrot cake that wowed each and every investor.

Ever since we viewed that episode, about three years ago, I have had a secret desire to surprise my carrot-cake-loving husband with one.

Try as I might, I couldn’t get that cake delivered to me. Then last month I had a great idea. I was away from home for business for several weeks and Randy and I were going to meet in Portland, Ore., for a couple’s retreat. What if I got the cake delivered there as a surprise?

I phoned the hotel to ensure that they would receive the cake and care for it until we got there, then phoned Daisy Cakes to order. I was excited!

It was all going well until he told me the amount that would be charged to my credit card…$89.  In U.S. dollars to boot!

I was prepared for the $50 cake but not for the extreme delivery charge — but I had already gone through so much trouble and could practically visualize presenting Randy with his surprise, so I gulped and put the order through.

It was beyond perfect when it arrived. Packed in a cooler with dry ice, it was huge and heavy, in a beautifully branded tin. As a surprise bonus, the hotel upgraded our room, placed the cake on the desk and comped us a bottle of wine.

Randy was surprised and thrilled. And every day for the four days of our trip we enjoyed the best carrot cake we’d ever had.

Was I crazy to pay this amount of money for a cake?

Maybe. But then again maybe not.

I stand by my decision. I did not pay $138 for a cake, I paid $138 for an experience. I paid to surprise my main man, to create a memory, to quench the desire for something we had been wanting for a long time.

I paid to celebrate our reunion and Valentine’s Day and the fact that after 33 years together we were doing a couple’s retreat — how cool is that?  

I paid $138 because I could and because we do good for others all the time and we deserve to treat ourselves to an indulgence every once in a while.

So, I indulged, I paid $138 for a cake. And it was worth every bite.

Now it’s your turn… what do you deserve to indulge in?

Stephanie Staples is the host of Your Life, Unlimited on CJOB, Sundays from 9 to 10 a.m. and a community correspondent for St. Vital. Contact her at stephanie@yourlifeunlimited.ca