History Main / CarryingACake

* Franchise/{{Archie|Comics}} has had this problem. Any time the cake isn't eaten by his chowhound friend Jughead, Archie ends up walking into someone and spilling it- Like Mr. Lodge, for example.

* In ''Film/TheSandlot'', during the chase scene with The Beast, two chefs carrying a large layer cake are in the path of the runners. Benny jumps over the cake, the Beast runs under it, and the other kids jostle the chefs as they run around it. When the chefs finally set the cake down safely on the table, a clown on stilts loses his balance from all the kids and falls onto the table, flinging the cake into the air and landing square on the poor chefs, covering them with frosting and stuff.

* ''Series/TopGear'': One event in the Lorry Challenge was for each presenter to carry a fragile or dangerous object in the back of their truck to be delivered safely at the end of an alpine handling course. James May got a massive wedding cake that fared about as well as you would expect. But, at least the cake didn't set his truck on fire...

* Creator/HarryPartridge's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdhAzIVC9iw Chuck's New Tux]]" presents a variant: Chuck rents a brand new tuxedo for the big dance, and needs to get home without ruining it. He dodges puddle splashes, people carrying loads of pizzas, and falling cans of paint, all while luckily keeping his tux clean. Eventually he accidentally steps on a skateboard and careens down the street before [[spoiler:[[BlackComedy landing on a wrought-iron fence and impaling himself through the throat and chest.]]]]

** There is also a radio PSA where another woman describes waiting for her father to bring a cake to her fifth birthday party. He never arrived, having been killed by a drunk driver.

* In ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'', they are supposed to drive the wedding cake to their relative's wedding. HilarityEnsues. To the point that, when the car the cake is in finally bursts into flame, the two main characters just walk away from it.

[[caption-width-right:275:Okay, now that's just asking for trouble.]]

* The main story of the 2007 ''Marvel Holiday Special'' ("A Piece Of Cake") features Franchise/SpiderMan trying to get a cake to Aunt May's Christmas party. Apparently he does this every year, and has never managed to bring the cake intact. The cake is destroyed when he and ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} fight a BadSanta with control of a [[HumongousMecha Sentinel]], but Wolvie bakes him a new one.

* Used as a ColdTurkeysAreEverywhere in the ''ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUK'' animated series. Dennis is under strict instructions not to get dirty before his school photo is taken. On his way to school, he encounters the Colonel staggering across the road carrying two cakes. The implausibility of the situation is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by the Colonel.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''

* In an episode of ''Manga/SchoolRumble'', Tenma makes two cakes, one for Karasuma for his birthday, and one for Harima's recent promotion. When Tenma leaves them unattended, Harima knocks Karasuma's cake over and ruins most of the inscription with only "ma" left. Harima assumes that he's destroyed his own cake and attempts to fix it before Tenma finds out. Cue some serious confusion when Tenma presents Karasuma's cake to him to find that she now has two cakes inscribed with "Harima".

* The title character of ''[[Manga/MutekiKanbanMusume Ramen Fighter Miki]]'' is a bicycle ramen delivery girl ... who gets into [[ChronicHeroSyndrome fights during every delivery]], with [[{{Slapstick}} predictable results]].
* In an [[{{Filler}} episode]] of ''{{Manga/Bleach}}'', [[GotVolunteered Yumichika]], [[TheHeart Hanatarou]] and [[SweetTooth Rin]] [[BizarroEpisode make a cake]] on behalf of the [[OneShotCharacter ghost of a dead baker]] who's [[UnfinishedBusiness unable to pass on]] until his mother has tried his cake recipe. After various [[LethalChef mishaps]] during the making of it, it's finally presented to the grieving mother, who promptly rejects it. And then the distressed ghost accidentally knocks the cake onto the floor and a [[MonsterOfTheWeek Menos Grande]] almost fries it with a [[BreathWeapon cero]].
* One episode of ''{{Manga/Kekkaishi}}'' had the Yoshimori help a ghost of a former pastry chef complete his GhostlyGoals of comforting his brother, who was mourning his untimely death, by recreating a cake he once made when he was little to cheer up his brother after their parents died. After many exhaustive attempts trying to create the perfect cake (doubling in difficulty since the ghost's incorporeal nature makes it so he has to direct Yoshimori to making the cake himself), they hurry with Ogata and her butler's help in their car. However the butler's reckless driving damages the cake, which the brother surprisingly accepts as the cake his late sibling baked because he did a shoddy job baking the cake when they were little (regardless it was the act himself that he cherished). His acceptance of the cake is enough to allow the ghost to pass on.

* Franchise/{{Archie|Comics}} has had this problem. Any time the cake isn't eaten by his chowhound friend Jughead, Archie ends up walking into someone and spilling it- Like Mr. Lodge, for example.
* ''Comicbook/MonicasGang'': Smudge once tried to deliver a cake. Meeting Maggy on the way, he hid it behind him so she wouldn't [[BigEater eat it]], which allowed someone else to take a bite. Later on, a fat person sat on the cake. When he finally reached his destination, the woman expecting the cake threw what left of it on his face.
* A ''[[ComicBook/TheSmurfs Smurfs]]'' one-page gag has Jokey stumbling to keep a pie intact as he carries it over to his recipient so that he could splatter his face with it.
* In ''ComicBook/HexWives'' #2, one of Nadiya's cakes is destroyed by Danali's cat charging through her kitchen.

* One ''{{ComicStrip/Garfield}}'' comic had Jon carrying an object similar in size and shape to a cake, which Garfield ran past and swallowed. As he continued running, he thought to himself, "I hope that was food."

* Subverted in ''Film/CatOnAHotTinRoof''. Big Mama brings in Big Daddy's majestic birthday cake and keeps carrying it throughout the scene that follows. The cake is perhaps the only thing in the scene that survives unscathed.
* ''Film/MyFavoriteYear'': At the Stork Club, Alan asks Benjy to create a diversion so he can steal someone's girl, so Benjy plays an inept waiter, stumbling out of the kitchen with a tray piled high with desserts, chaotically weaving and dodging through the anxious crowd.
* ''Film/TheParty'' settles into a sit-down dinner -- with Bakshi (Creator/PeterSellers) seated on a tiny footstool just in front of the kitchen's swinging door, and an inebriated waiter staggering around the table, it's only inevitable that the cake ends up all over the chef when he brings it out.
* One skit in ''Film/TheKentuckyFriedMovie'' features a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo by Creator/DonaldSutherland, who is playing "The Clumsy Waiter" and is carrying a cake. He trips and face-plants in it.

* In the Literature/{{Goosebumps}} book ''The Cuckoo Clock of Doom'', the main character Michael is carrying his own birthday cake, when his bratty sister [[EnfantTerrible Tara]] trips him, causing him to land face first in it. When he starts going backwards in time, he tries to prevent the tripping, but it still happens anyway. When Michael relives his birthday a third time at the end of the story he manages to carry the cake to the table without incident.
* ''Literature/SnowCrash'' opens with [[MeaningfulName Hiro Protagonist]] attempting to deliver a pizza. For the Mafia. Across several [[DividedStatesOfAmerica international borders]]. In [[MundaneMadeAwesome Ten Minutes.]] [[YouHaveFailedMe Or else...]] He winds up [[spoiler:in an unfilled swimming pool]], but a passing skateboarder decides to do him a favor...

* [[Literature/WinnieThePooh Winnie The Pooh]] has Pooh carry a jar of honey to Eeyore's birthday a long way through the forest. [[spoiler: By the time he arrives it's become a "useful pot to put things in".]]

* An episode of ''Series/{{Two Broke Girls}}'' has Max and Caroline deliver a wedding cake, with them being forced to carry it on the subway.
* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Several episodes see Miss Brooks accidentally collide with Mr. Conklin, lunch in hand.
* ''Series/{{ER}}'', the Thanksgiving episode where Carol goes into labor, she is carrying two pumpkin pies, one which is dropped before she gets there.
* ''Series/FawltyTowers'': "Gourmet Night": Basil spends a good part of the episode trying to get food from a restaurant to his hotel, only to have it destroyed at the last minute. The main problem is that the cake isn't even what he ordered (duck). When he goes to pick up the replacement, one of the waiters accidentally switches it with a Bombe Surprise, which he digs through once he finds out in an attempt to somehow find the missing duck.
* Creator/FoodNetwork has turned this trope into a series premise, with ''Series/FoodNetworkChallenge'' often featuring precarious cake, chocolate, or sugar creations which must be carried from the kitchen to the judging table to prove the construction skill of the chef that made them. This requirement comes from the more established national and international pastry competitions that FN also airs.
** Also, ''Series/AceOfCakes'', being a reality show about a bakery, can get into this sort of trouble. Truly serious disasters are thankfully rare (it helps if the cake isn't shaped like a tall building).

* In the ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'' episode "Beware the Knight", Trip was sent to pickup a pizza the Rangers ordered, and on the way back home, he stopped to have a bite out of it (mainly because he was hungry), when he was attacked by the MonsterOfTheWeek and the pizza got ruined. When he finally got home, [[CassandraTruth nobody believed that he was attacked]] and they all though that he just messed up. At the end of the episode they send him again for another one and returns with a destroyed pizza again, but this time he says that he just [[{{Pun}} trip]]ped up.
* ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' had this at a wedding. Flynn, who supported the wedding on the grounds of "party!", spent the whole fight against the WeddingSmashers protecting the cake - only for the RichBitch in attendance to land in it trying to catch a bouquet.
* Almost any shot that included [[ThoseTwoGuys Bulk and Skull]] from ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' and a cake generally resulted in this. Probably the most memorable was the episode 'Peace, Love and Woe' when after destroying a cake, Ernie, the owner of the juice bar banned them until they paid him for it. At the end of the episode, Ernie caught them wearing disguises to violate the ban and Bulk decided to get the money from the 'bank', which happened to be his foot. The money was so smelly, Ernie fell on the replacement cake.
* In the early years of ''Series/SesameStreet'', there was a series of "Song of _____ " skits, each devoted to a different number from 1-10 and showing various items in groupings of that number. The "Song of Eight", for instance, would show eight blocks, then eight clocks, eight puppets, etc. Each of these vignettes would climax with stuntman Alex Stevens (but often erroneously credited to Creator/JimHenson, who simply voiced him) as a white-hatted baker attempting to descend a staircase with a given number of cakes, pies, puddings, etc., then tripping and falling to the bottom in a messy heap.
-->'''Chorus of Children''': And that's/The fall/Of eight
* ''Series/WillAndGrace'', the episode with Will's Father's party, where Karen and Jack bring a large cake and have to walk up many flights of stairs with the cake which arrives after Jack has eaten some of it, but the party has gone to hell in the meantime.
* In ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'', they are supposed to drive the wedding cake to their relative's wedding. HilarityEnsues. To the point that, when the car the cake is in finally bursts into flame, the two main characters just walk away from it.
* Played with in UK soap ''Series/CoronationStreet'', where a family are carrying a homemade wedding cake to the reception, while a scooter weaves its way around them. The cake actually does make it to its intended destination, only to then be destroyed by the drugs squad in search of evidence.
* In ''Series/GeneSimmonsFamilyJewels'' Nick and Sophie were driving home from the cake shop with Gene's birthday cake and Sophie braked suddenly, causing Nick to squish the cake onto his T-shirt.
* ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' has this in both the pilot of the original series, and the pilot movie of ''[[Series/BradyBunchSpinOffs The Brady Brides]]''. It ends badly both times.
* In ''Series/SavedByTheBell: The College Years'' the gang had [[WackyGuy Screech]] pick up a cake. When Slater asked what images were invoked with the words "Screech" and "cake", they decided to order another one.

* ''Series/TopGear'': One event in the Lorry Challenge was for each presenter to carry a fragile or dangerous object in the back of their truck to be delivered safely at the end of an alpine handling course. James May got a massive wedding cake that fared about as well as you would expect. But, at least the cake didn't set his truck on fire...
* The final episode of ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati'' ends with Herb tripping and smushing the station's ratings-climb celebration cake in Andy's face. Everyone silently leaves in embarrassment, although Johnny swipes a bite as he goes.
* The doomed pavlova in the Christmas episode of ''Series/TheWorstYearOfMyLifeAgain''. Due to the loop year, it ends up being doomed twice.

* ''Series/TheGreatBritishBakeOff'': More usually involves the cake mix or other ingredients--although it's not uncommon for finished products to collapse as well, notably Rob's Genoese sponge disaster in series 2. Luckily, when things end up on the floor, it's usually early enough in the round to start over--or in Rob's case, miraculously rescue two of the three delicate cake layers and end up being highly praised for their quality.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]

[[folder:Theater]]
* The stage show of ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'' has ''Status Quo'' end with Zeke trying to give Sharpay a cake, but having Gabriella dance into him, making him trip and spill the cake onto the girl of his dreams instead. Troy even lampshades this, pointing out that this impromptu school singalong is probably not "the time to be giving Sharpay a cake."
* A key act in Creator/CirqueDuSoleil's ''Theatre/NouvelleExperience'', which later reappeared in ''Theatre/LaNouba'', is based on averting this trope -- the acrobat successfully carries a cake (with lit candles) up with him as he scales a growing tower of chairs.

* The MMORPG ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'' has a group of quests that involve carrying a pie through the Shire while avoiding hungry Hobbits.

* One of the bonus games in ''[[VideoGame/YoshisStory Yoshi's Story]]'' had you carrying/balancing melon crates against the clock.

* Mocked by ''Website/TheOnion'': "Creator/JackieChan attacked while holding World's Most Expensive Wedding Cake."

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Hell on Earth 2006", Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy have to deliver a cake shaped like a life-sized Ferrari to Satan for his Halloween Party. They end up accidentally destroying the cake and killing each other whilst they try to bake a new one.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''
** In "Pizza Delivery", [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward have to deliver a Pizza to a customer for the new Krusty Krab pizza delivery service. After a long, grueling journey through nowhere, [=SpongeBob=] reveals he can ride a rock as if it was an animal, and rides it to the customer, who was right next to the Krusty Krab. The customer rejects the pizza because it didn't come with a drink. Not amused at all, Squidward gives it to him [[PieInTheFace by force.]]
** In "Waiting", Patrick successfully delivers a piece of cake to [=SpongeBob=] but ends up eating it whilst looking for the fork he brought.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** [[InvokedTrope Invoked ]] as part of a scam played by Homer and Bart. Bart portrayed a blind kid with a cake for his deaf sister (really just a frosted throw pillow) and stood next to someone so they would knock it over. Then Homer stepped in and threatened the mark to pay them for the "cake".
** In "500 Keys", Homer buys a cake at a store specializing in wedding cakes from cancelled weddings. He is determined to get it home safely, leading to some reckless driving.
** In "Chief of Hearts", Homer accidentally puts himself on Red Alert, so he and Chief Wiggum change the warning from a picture of Homer to Moe. Cut to Moe surrounded by angry townspeople while carrying a cake.
-->'''Moe:''' Not a good time to be carrying this cake.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones The Flintstone Comedy Show]]'' had a skit where Fred and Barney offered to transport a cake that Wilma made for some contest. Hilarity ensues, cake gets destroyed, and they reassemble it with their golf clubs.
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode ''The Mutants are Revolting'' began with the crew needing to [[NitroExpress deliver a nitroglycerin-laced souffle]] to Mrs. Astor. Surprisingly, they managed it, and it didn't even explode when eaten... until Mrs. Astor gave the leftovers to her dogs, at which point it promptly exploded.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' has an entire episode devoted to this in "The Other Tarts".
* Used as a ColdTurkeysAreEverywhere in the ''ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUK'' animated series. Dennis is under strict instructions not to get dirty before his school photo is taken. On his way to school, he encounters the Colonel staggering across the road carrying two cakes. The implausibility of the situation is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by the Colonel.

* One ''ComicStrip/Garfield'' comic had Jon carrying an object similar in size and shape to a cake, which Garfield ran past and swallowed. As he continued running, he thought to himself, "I hope that was food."

* One ''Comic/Strip/Garfield'' comic had Jon carrying an object similar in size and shape to a cake, which Garfield ran past and swallowed. As he continued running, he thought to himself, "I hope that was food."

* In ''Film/TheSandlot'', during the chase scene with The Beast, two chefs carrying a large layer cake are in the path of the runners. Benny jumps over the cake, the Beast runs under it, and the other kids jostle the chefs as they run around it. When the chefs finally set the cake down safely on the table, a clown on stilts loses balance from all the kids and falls onto the table, flinging the cake into the air.

* An episode of ''Series/{{Two Brike Girls}}'' has Max and Caroline deliver a wedding cake, with them being forced to carry it on the subway.

* One Comcast Business Class commercial narrated by Titus Welliver plays with this in several ways, starting with him drawing attention to the recently-waxed floor that two people are carrying a cake over. {{Subverted}} when the cake arrives safely--and then DoubleSubverted when the table collapses. Titus DidntSeeThatComing.

* The main story of the 2007 ''Marvel Holiday Special'' ("A Piece Of Cake") features Comicbook/SpiderMan trying to get a cake to Aunt May's Christmas party. Apparently he does this every year, and has never managed to bring the cake intact. The cake is destroyed when he and {{Wolverine}} fight a BadSanta with control of a [[HumongousMecha Sentinel]], but Wolvie bakes him a new one.

* An early sequence in ''Film/EasyMoney'' has Rodney Dangerfield and Creator/JoePesci having to transport a gigantic wedding cake in their van. After laboriously loading it up, they do some other errands before having to brake suddenly, sending the cake smashing into the windshield. Something of a Lampshade Hanging, as the sequence seems to play on the audience's expectations that the cake will be destroyed, and it takes so long to happen that they may start to doubt the film is going to do it.

* Creator/FoodNetwork has turned CarryingACake into a series premise, with ''Series/FoodNetworkChallenge'' often featuring precarious cake, chocolate, or sugar creations which must be carried from the kitchen to the judging table to prove the construction skill of the chef that made them. This requirement comes from the more established national and international pastry competitions that FN also airs.

** In "Pizza Delivery", [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward have to deliver a Pizza to a customer for the new Krusty Krab pizza delivery service. After a long, grueling journey through nowhere, Spongebob reveals he can ride a rock as if it was an animal, and rides it to the customer, who was right next to the Krusty Krab. The customer rejects the pizza because it didn't come with a drink. Not amused at all, Squidward gives it to him [[PieInTheFace by force.]]
** In "Waiting", Patrick successfully delivers a piece of cake to Spongebob but ends up eating it whilst looking for the fork he brought.

* Used as a ColdTurkeysAreEverywhere in the ''ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUK'' animated series. Dennis is under strict instructions not to get dirty before his school photo is taken. On his way to school, he encounters the Colonel staggering across the road carrying two cakes. The implausibility of the situation is {{Lampshaded}} by the Colonel.
* ''{{Popeye}}'' in "Happy Birthdaze", Popeye uses a rug to cover a big hole in the floor of Olive's apartment that his annoying pal Shorty just fell down. Moments later she runs out with a big birthday cake and falls through too, the cake hanging in midair a few seconds. Popeye and Shorty both end up in the cellar furnace, and Olive angrily kicks the cake down to them.

* In ''Webcomic/CharbyTheVampirate'' [[Dojikko Zeno]] spends a morning making a cake for his [[CuteMonsterGirl girlfriend]] [[CuteWitch Mye]] only for her to unknowingly knock it out of his hands when one of their friends gives her something she's been looking for, she then [[http://www.charbythevampirate.com/comic/882 magically vanishes the dropped cake]] to clean up without seeing what it was.

Sometimes, a plot involves or is centered around a character needing to carry a cake, pie, or some other food item toward a destination.

* In the ''{{Redwall}}'' book ''The Pearls of Lutra'', Tansy is carrying a cake that is decorated with seven marchpane orbs wrapped in rose petals on top. Clecky the hare sneaks one, and after being scolded, four gulls attack the cake. They were working for the book's BigBad, Ublaz, and had been sent to find the titular pearls, which the cake decorations resembled.