What your favourite cakes says about you, according to a baker and psychologist

Food guru and former MasterChef judge Matt Preston explores the science behind your preferred cake with baker Natalie Paull and psychologist Sabina Read.

If our clothes can give someone insights into what sort of person you are, how revealing is the cake you choose to eat?

I am a Victoria sponge cake sort of a guy, which probably says I’m a traditionalist. But I also like a kirsch-soaked Black Forest cake laden with cherries, so maybe I’m a traditionalist who enjoys a little decadence.

To settle things, I brought in my favourite cake-baking guru, Natalie Paull of Beatrix Bakes, and Sabina Read, my favourite psychologist, for Delicious to work out what your favourite cake says about you …

VICTORIA SPONGE

If this is your cake of choice, then you are a traditionalist who likes elegance and good manners. You might be my posh grandmother … or me.

Natalie says: Sponges are fluffy and ethereal, so I feel those who love this cake are multi-dimensional beings with both a serious and a sweet side. They might be dreamers, too.

Sabina says: You don’t want to rock the boat, are happy to go with the flow and may want to please others. You may also lean towards a more risk-averse approach to life, but does playing it safe all the time really deliver the outcomes you want?

FRUIT CAKE

I reckon this cake is for tweed-wearers who like to go for long winter walks with their dogs – probably Labradors – on windswept beaches.

Natalie says: Very traditional. You’re likely to be older or you have an old person living inside your soul.

Are you a fan of fruit cake? Picture: Australia's Best Recipes

Sabina says: You may appear as someone who favours traditional ways, but who are you fooling? Fruit cakes are often alcohol-soaked and full of hidden and juicy gems suggesting that the traditionalist in you may actually hanker to take a walk on the wild side. When you’ve put your Labrador to bed, go crank up some AC/DC or hard trance. Then, let us know.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

People who love this cake are dependable and rule-following types who like their luxury to be within strict bounds.

Natalie says: These people are straight and narrow. There’s only one cake for them.

Sabina says: You may feel like you’re a little naughty, but the humble chocolate cake tends to deliver much less decadence than it promises. If you were to dial up the playful and flirtatious sides of your personality, what new outcomes would await? Perhaps it’s time to ask yourself: what deep, hidden truths am I keeping under lock and key?

What does loving chocolate cake say about you? Picture: Delicious

CHOCOLATE MUD CAKE

Decadent, greedy, and will bend the rules to get their way. Most likely to cheat on their taxes (er, sorry, have a “tax minimisation plan in place”).

Natalie says: Mud-cake lovers tend to be secretive about their love for them, often because they think they are a bit common and daggy. Like the mud cake they crave, they are not as exciting as they pretend to be. And they like spreadsheets. [In the interest of transparency, Nat loves mud cake. Her go-to is caramel mud cake.]

Sabina says: Mud cakes are heavy, dense and gluttonous and it’s likely that fans of this dessert value depth and meaning. But don’t be fooled: mud cake can be so heavy that it sinks in the middle. Hold boundaries for the elusive balance you seek.

CARROT CAKE

You secretly hope that it’s healthy when we all know good carrot cake isn’t, so you’re prone to denial. In your youth, you used henna on your hair, and possibly played guitar. I like you very much.

Are you a carrot cake kind of person?

Natalie says:Carrot cake lovers are living a small lie … they’re really only there for the cream-cheese frosting. They also need to be reminded this is not a serve of veg.

Sabina says: You want to be seen doing the right thing and making pious choices, but underneath your pollyanna ways are dreams of decadent cream-cheese icing and walnut crunch to spice up your life.

TEA CAKE

Serious, functional and good at replacing washers in taps. A person of habit. The presence of sparse, simple icing does nothing to hide your utilitarianism.

Natalie says: I see tea cake lovers as a little prim, the sort of person who makes their bed every morning, is into meal prep and pays their taxes on time.

Sabina says: You are polite, contained and not wanting to push your views on others. In fact, you always offer everyone around you a slice first and may even go without – then you wonder why that little voice inside you is sprinkled with resentment. Manners are good, but not at your own expense every time.

For more food, travel and lifestyle news, go to delicious.com.au

Originally published as What your favourite cakes says about you, according to a baker and psychologist