📙 Part 2: Describe a special cake you received from others

This episode's vocabulary

Come to mind (idiom) – to suddenly be remembered or thought of. → Example: The one cake that immediately comes to my mind is my last birthday cake.

Go round to (phrasal verb) – to visit someone in their home. → Example: I went round to my parents with a few of my friends for the party.

Joint (adjective) – shared by or belonging to two or more people. → Example: It was a joint birthday party as my aunt's birthday is the day before mine.

Covered in (phrasal verb) – to have a lot of something on the surface. → Example: They all covered the cake in candles.

Fire hazard (noun phrase) – something that is likely to cause a fire. → Example: With 36 candles, the cake was almost a fire hazard.

A big fan of (idiom) – to like something very much. → Example: I'm not a big fan of sugar, but I love birthday cake.

Cut down on (phrasal verb) – to reduce the amount of something you eat, drink, or do. → Example: I'm always trying to cut down on sugar.

Seldom (adverb) – not often; rarely. → Example: I seldom get to have birthday cake, so this was a special treat for me.

A special treat (noun phrase) – a special and enjoyable occasion or item. → Example: It was a special birthday treat for me.

A big deal (idiom) – something important. → Example: If I hadn't been given it, I doubt it would have been a big deal.

Filling (noun) – a sweet mixture put inside a cake. → Example: The cake had a creamy filling made of jam.

Icing (noun) – a sweet, sugary coating for cakes and biscuits. → Example: The icing was white and the candles were red, blue and white.

A piece of cake (idiom) – something that is very easy to do. → Example: Organizing this party was a piece of cake.

Flourless (adjective) - made without flour. → Example: For a healthier option, you could describe a flourless chocolate cake.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Describe a special cake you received from others. You should say when it happened, where it happened, who you got the cake from and explain why it's a special cake.

Rory: I suppose the one that immediately comes to my mind is my last birthday cake. So speaking about when I got it, this would have been the 24th of August, 2025 actually, since that's when my last birthday was. I went round to my parents with a few of my friends and some relatives from abroad joined us. Just since it was a joint birthday party as well. One of my aunts has a similar birthday to me. I think she's the day before. So because it was happening at the same time, we were all together. And if we consider exactly where this was, I know I said it was my parents, but it was such a nice day, we decided to have the party in the back garden on the decking. And then when I think about who gave it to me, I actually don't remember. But I suspect it was a joint birthday cake from everybody. And they all covered it in candles. Actually almost to the extent it was a fire hazard. There was one for every year and it was my 36th. As for why it was special, well, it was a birthday cake. And who doesn't love that? I think it was also just nice, because of who it was from and what it symbolized as well. Getting older and wiser and being surrounded by people who love and care about you. Or in this case, people who love and care about me. Plus, even though I'm not a big fan of sugar and I've always, well, I'm always trying to cut down, I absolutely love the taste of birthday cake and I seldom get to have it, so this was a special treat for me. It wasn't a particularly special one in terms of the toppings or the icing or anything, but it's just a nice taste to have. If I hadn't been given it, I doubt it would have been a big deal. But it's nice to have these little gestures, isn't it?

Maria: And what about your family? Did they enjoy the cake?

Rory: I assume so, because there was none of it left by the time the party was over.

Discussion

Maria: So, dear listener, describe a cake. Describe a special cake you received from others or describe a cake you liked, anything about a cake. And we're talking about a birthday cake or a wedding cake, or just a cake.

Rory: I think we only really have cake for birthdays and weddings. Is that it?

Maria: No, sometimes on a Friday, you just go shopping and you just buy a cake.

Rory: Oh, maybe this is you. I don't do that.

Maria: No, okay. Right. But if I feel like it, why not? Yeah, I can get myself a cake and it's special. Right, dear listener, but the vocabulary is going to be very specific. We need to describe a cake. The easiest option is to talk about your birthday cake, even if you didn't have a cake for your birthday, just say it.

Rory: But you will have to describe it.

Maria: Yeah. And you start off with one cake that comes to mind, the one cake I remember, is my birthday cake. The first thing that stands out in my mind. So the first thing you can think of. I got it in August. I got it last year. I got it last month or I got it in May, when's your birthday? I went round to my parents. I visited my parents. Or I went round to my friends. I went round to my boyfriend, girlfriend, to my colleagues. Maybe you got a cake at work. Ooh, that would be nice. Yeah. So I celebrated with my colleagues at work. My colleagues gave it to me. Or I went round to my... My relatives were there, my aunts, uncles. And it was a joint birthday party. So all of us got together. Family, friends.

Rory: With a shared birthday.

Maria: A shared birthday. So I invited my friends and my relatives, my family. We had a party at home. We had a party in the back garden. Oh, I had a party at work in the office. Or in a cafe, maybe? In a restaurant? Or just in a park? Again, dear listener, you just can imagine. Imagine your birthday in a park. It was a picnic birthday. Why not? You can say that I bought it myself or I got it from my parents. My friends gave me the cake. Or I just don't really remember. I don't really remember who gave it to me.

Rory: Or I actually don't really remember. I still don't remember, even though I'm thinking about it now in more detail.

Maria: Yeah, to be honest with you, I don't remember who gave it to me. It was a joint birthday cake from everyone. You can say that it was covered in candles. So there were a lot of candles. On the cake, right, Rory, or in the cake?

Rory: On the cake. Yes. In the cake, there will be the filling, the jam, perhaps, the sponge.

Maria: Yeah, when you describe a cake, you say it was filled with fruit. So fruit was inside the cake.

Rory: Oh, do you want fruit in your cake?

Maria: Yeah, why not? Strawberries, for example.

Rory: Well, that's okay, with jam.

Maria: Yeah. Yeah. Or the cake had a nice filling. So filling is something that is inside the cake. Or for example, the cake had a creamy filling or a sweet filling made of jam. So fruit filling, cream filling. And what do we say about the icing?

Rory: Oh, the icing is the sugar covering of the cake. Usually it's got bright colors on it. Or it can be white, I think.

Maria: So filling inside the cake and icing on the cake. The cake was made with fruit, vanilla, chocolate. It had chocolate filling.

Rory: Sounds ideal. I don't think mine had chocolate filling. I think it was just jam.

Maria: Right. what flavor?

Rory: Strawberry jam, maybe. This was a long time ago.

Maria: Ah, you don't remember. Okay. Yeah, it's okay, to say, oh, I don't remember what flavor it had. Flavor is the taste. So vanilla flavor, chocolate flavor. You can say it had some nuts, fruits, coffee, perhaps, it had coffee flavor. Yeah, or you can say, it was quite fatty. The cake was fatty, full of fat and fatty cream.

Rory: Sounds ideal.

Maria: Yeah, it was very sugary. It was very sweet.

Rory: And if you have the time, you could talk about the different colors of the cake. I didn't need to do that, but if I remember correctly, I think the icing was white and the candles were red, blue and white, for example. So you've got to keep talking until the examiner says thank you. So if they haven't said thank you yet, then you could just say, and the colors were also beautiful and then describe the colors in more detail.

Maria: Yeah, maybe it was nice, what? Red with fresh strawberries on top. You can say I'm not a big fan of sugar. I don't like sugar much. I'm trying to cut down on sugar. Yeah, phrasal verb. Dear listener, even if you eat sugar every day, you just use this phrasal verb, okay? Yeah, I'm not a big fan of sugar and I'm always trying to cut down on sugar. So to reduce my sugar intake. I try to reduce sugar in my life. I'm trying to cut down on sugar. Or I'm trying to cut down on sweets, but I absolutely loved the taste of this birthday cake. I rarely eat a cake or seldom. Almost never. I rarely eat a cake. I seldom eat a cake. But it was a special treat. Because you are talking about a special cake you got from others, so it was a special treat. Treat, it was a special event, a special something for me. A special enjoyable occasion. Wow, Rory. A birthday treat is C2.

Rory: Is it?

Maria: It is. Can you believe it? Wow.

Rory: What a weird collocation to have is that.

Maria: I know. Yeah, it was my birthday treat. It was something special, enjoyable, a celebration, a reward, a cake. So C2 Band 9. An unexpected Band 9 moment. Oh la la. Yeah, dear listener, so it was a special birthday treat for me. Then Rory used a crazy conditional. Dear listener, if you don't like conditionals, forget about it. Okay? But we can use the third conditional because the story is in the past and we are imagining if no cake, if I hadn't had the cake, it would have been something else. Okay? I would have had a pizza. But I did have a cake and I didn't have a pizza. Okay? The third conditional. Or in the passive. So if I hadn't been given this cake, it would not have been a big deal. I would have been okay without the cake. It's crazy. I know. So if it's difficult for you, forget about it.

Rory: No. Try.

Maria: No, but come on, it's difficult. You can use the second conditional. For example, oh, if I could, I'd buy the same cake for my friend's birthday. Okay? If I could, I'd buy. Right? If I had some time, I'd make the same cake for my friends. Ooh. Yeah, you can also use some special words like, oh, it was a cheesecake. It was a homemade cake. Okay? Just use icing, use feeling. Okay, and you'll be fine. What adjectives can we use about a cake for you? So the cake was m and m.

Rory: Mmm. Delicious.

Maria: Yeah.

Rory: Tasty.

Maria: Creamy. If the cake is creamy, oh, it was sweet and creamy. Oh.

Rory: And if there's sugar in it, then we could say it's sugary. Of course, now we all feel hungry.

Maria: Yeah, dear listener and then yeah, you say I ate a slice of the cake. Right? A piece of cake? A slice. I had three slices. Yeah, and you say, oh, my friends made it. It was a piece of cake for them.

Rory: I was tempted to make that joke, but then I knew that you would do it. So I just let you go ahead and do it.

Maria: Yeah, a piece of cake is something easy, yeah? So you can crack a joke and use this idiom. Or, organizing this party was a piece of cake. It was very easy for me.

Rory: Oh, God.

Maria: I know. And then just come on. Right. If it was a special cake, again, just Google this cheesecake, the ingredients and have about three, four words to describe your cake, okay? If, for example, you ate a healthy cake without any flour, okay? No sugar cake. Rory, have you ever eaten a no sugar cake?

Rory: A sugar free cake? Ooh, no.

Maria: Oh, so it was a flourless chocolate cake, no flour, this white thingy that we usually put, no sugar. It was without flour, without sugar. So sugar-free, flourless cake. Flourless, no flour. Yeah? Maybe it was made, it was banana oat bread. Yeah, a cake made of bananas and carrots. I don't know.

Rory: Oh. Well, you can have carrot cake and that's all right.

Maria: Yeah, with natural sweetness. Yeah, you can say, oh, it was a delicious cake with natural sweetness, no gluten, and sugar free. No dairy. Dairy, milk products. No dairy. So pretty much no cake. It was something strange.

Rory: It was just something else, not a cake really, and so totally pointless to mention.

Maria: Right, dear listener. Thank you very much for listening. Hopefully you are now hungry. Just try to cut down on sugar in your life. Okay? Maybe a cake once a month, once in two months. All right? Two slices. All right? We'll get back to you in our next episode.

Rory: About cakes in general. Is it about cakes in general?

Maria: Yummy, yummy, yeah, meals, food and cakes.

Rory: Oh, nice. Okay.

Maria: See you there.

Rory: Bye.

Maria: Bye.