caketastrophe

A cake or cake-like dessert, such as a cupcake or delectable cookie-cake, that represents, inspires, or responds to a catastrophe. Such artistic desserts were first imagined in the salons of late-18th century Paris during discussions of the plight of the Sans-culottes. The oft-repeated "let them eat cake" reflected the aristocratic belief that the Parisian poor should indulge in cakestrophe so that they might come to understand the futility of resisting the will of the Second Estate. Because the discourse of these educated salon-frequenters was primarily grounded in esoteric cake theory and not in practice, caketastrophe remained a largely conceptual dessert until the innovations of Brown University undergraduates in the fall of 2007. These brave students, inspired by the work of Hemmingway and certain gay fantasies, struggled against the forces of uncooperative frosting and poorly calibrated dorm ovens to produce the first recorded caketastrophes.